Corner chair c. 1936

Lorenz Rothkranz made this scaled drawing of a corner chair, with ink on paper. The thinness of the line implies control, and a concern with clarity, which is typical of furniture plans. But it also opens up a strange and dreamy space. I'm thinking of the way the line in a drawing can be a record of a moving hand, a process of thinking through the form, a kind of bodily knowledge, like dancing, and this corner chair somehow seems to be in motion. Even though this is just a functional drawing, the hand of the artist is visible in the curves and lines. Look at the back of the chair, like two faces looking at one another. The two chairs side by side almost look like dancing partners. What Rothkranz shares with someone like Agnes Martin is that the apparent simplicity of the line drawing allows the viewer to bring their own ideas and associations to the work. It is a springboard for the imagination.