Street Scene c. 1940

Editor: Here we have Franz Kline's "Street Scene" from around 1940, a drawing rendered in pencil. It has a certain roughness that I find really compelling. What do you make of it? Curator: Well, first off, consider the *material* of the pencil. Graphite, cheap and readily available, democratizes artmaking. Kline isn’t using some rare pigment; he's employing a tool accessible to almost anyone. How does that influence your understanding of the “street scene” he depicts? Editor: It suggests a focus on the everyday, I suppose. The commonness of the medium matches the commonness of the subject matter, making it seem relatable. Curator: Exactly! The drawing, the act of *making* the image, emphasizes Kline's relationship to the social environment. The quick, sketchy lines hint at the hurried pace of urban life, but also the immediate, almost journalistic impulse to record it. Do you think the looseness diminishes or enhances the “realism” of it? Editor: I think it adds to it! The incomplete feeling gives it a sense of fleeting reality, like he's capturing a moment that's already fading. It feels less posed and more spontaneous. How do you think Kline’s own experience of labor informed his portrayal of the street? Curator: An interesting point. Was he observing workers, perhaps identifying with their labor in some way, mirroring his artistic practice with theirs? It challenges the boundary between observing and participating in the very fabric of city life. This wasn't art made for the elite; it was of and possibly *for* the everyday worker. Editor: So, thinking about the materials and the subject matter, we see how Kline makes visible the ordinary life around him, and maybe makes it more accessible to a wider audience. Curator: Precisely. The work becomes a testament to the artistic potential residing in both commonplace materials and experiences.