Trivet c. 1939

Charles Cullen made this drawing of a trivet, but when I don’t know. What I love about this drawing is how it shows the artist working out the object from different perspectives. You have the flat, diagrammatic view from above that shows you how the flower-like, circular forms link up; then you have the object in real space, rendered in a simple but persuasive way. The rendering creates a subtle sense of light and shadow on the metal that makes you want to reach out and touch it. I can imagine Cullen carefully studying the trivet, trying to understand how all the parts fit together. It reminds me of the kind of analytical looking and problem-solving that is part of still life, but also the abstract pleasures of geometry. The artist seems to be asking what the minimum is that is needed to show something. There’s a conversation happening here between the artist and object.