Lamp c. 1936

Joseph Leboit drew this lamp with pencil on paper, and the grayscale makes me think of a black and white photograph. It’s interesting to think of drawing as a way of capturing a subject in the same way, like the picture of a lamp. The subtle gradations in tone and the hazy effect of the pencil work create a soft focus, giving the object a dreamlike quality. Look closely, and you'll see Leboit has also drawn the light around the lamp! The little flecks and scribbles around the central object imply the surrounding space, they give it a kind of depth. I love the little leaves that adorn the stem of the lamp, they add an element of organic charm to the otherwise industrial object. It reminds me a little of the work of Charles Sheeler, who photographed industrial objects but imbued them with a sense of stillness and beauty, but maybe that’s just me!