Powder Horn c. 1938

Edward Loper rendered this powder horn using watercolor and graphite on paper. What strikes me is the almost diagrammatic approach, like a technical drawing, but the rendering is so meticulous that it brings a real presence to this object, a kind of warmth. Look at the gradations of color across the horn, from the dark, almost chocolatey end to the paler, almost silvery body. You can see Loper’s process in the delicate hatching and layering of the pigments, each stroke carefully placed to build up the form and texture of the horn. The little decorative details around the rim and spout – these were clearly a joy to render. There’s something inherently pleasurable in taking the time to observe and recreate the world around us. It reminds me of the work of Charles Demuth, another Pennsylvania artist who combined a similar level of detail with modern abstraction, and suggests art-making as a form of careful attention and record-keeping. It invites us to slow down, to really see.