Untitled (As the Fire Fell From the Sky) c. 1945 - 1946

Curator: So, this is Erwin Spuler's "Untitled (As the Fire Fell From the Sky)," held here at the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: Wow, it feels like looking at chaos, a beautiful, terrifying jumble of sharp angles and dense charcoal. It's as if a city imploded on paper. Curator: The title is so evocative. It could be read as a response to the world wars, but perhaps it's more personal, a study of inner turmoil manifested in abstract form. Editor: Absolutely, the figure huddled amongst the debris gives it that human touch, like a survivor searching through the rubble. I keep wanting to find some sense of order, but maybe that's the point. Curator: Exactly. Post-war art grappled with disillusionment, and Spuler captures that raw emotion, that shattering of pre-war ideals. The lack of date makes it almost timeless, doesn’t it? Editor: It does. It really speaks to how chaos can be both destructive and, strangely, creatively fertile. It's unsettling, but I can't look away.