Swinging Lamp c. 1938

Roy Weber made this drawing of a lamp, with graphite and colored pencil on paper. The lamp sits there, suspended in time, so still it seems like a photograph, but it's a drawing. I can almost feel the weight of the graphite in Weber's hand as he captures every curve, every angle, every imperfection. It's like he's not just drawing a lamp; he's drawing the very essence of light, of illumination. I’m imagining him thinking, “How do I capture the way light dances and flickers?” What does it mean to bring light into the world, to push back the darkness? And you can see how that impulse comes down to us, through the marks made, speaking to us today. I mean that’s what artists do – we’re all swinging lamps of a kind, aren’t we?