Jongen knijpt een spons uit boven een lei before 1926

Editor: This is "Boy Squeezing a Sponge Above a Slate," a pen and ink drawing by Anny Leusink, made before 1926. The linear quality creates a charming scene. The stark blacks contrast interestingly with the areas of white. What can you tell me about this drawing? Curator: Its representationalism is of interest. The rendering of three young boys exhibits what Roman Jakobson would describe as a focus on the "referential function" of language. However, our attention is immediately drawn to the framing of the work, creating a kind of "mise en abyme." What is your interpretation? Editor: Well, the framing makes me consider the piece more deliberately as a constructed image, drawing attention to its artifice, not just the subject itself. The interior and exterior frame adds layers to the depth of the drawing and reinforces the subject matter. Curator: Indeed, the visual frame forces our viewing inwards, and then, consider how the objects of the boys replicate in that layering; do the internal geometric forms draw attention away from any potential humanistic narrative and point towards form, above all else? Editor: The geometric framing and construction certainly pulls me in to observe more. I learned to look at how composition and form impacts narrative and what the artwork says. Curator: And I was reminded to keep challenging assumptions, particularly how initial impressions might shift under closer scrutiny, shifting the work from realism to artifice.