Mirror c. 1936

Fred Weiss made this drawing of a mirror with watercolor, which gives it such a light, airy feel. You can almost see him, can't you, carefully laying down those washes of brown for the frame, letting the color pool and settle in the little decorative curlicues. I imagine Weiss was interested in the interplay between the real and the reflected. The slight imperfections and wavering lines make it feel handmade, intimate. The translucent blues within the rectangular frame are evocative of the shifting qualities of light and shadow, giving it a dreamlike quality. There’s a definite nod to traditional design, but with a looseness that feels modern. It’s as if Weiss is saying, "I see you, tradition, but I'm going to do it my way." And isn’t that what all artists do? We look back, we look around, and then we make something new, something that only we could make.