Plinker and Wood Block 1935 - 1942

Editor: This is Oscar Bluemner's "Plinker and Wood Block," a colored pencil drawing on paper created sometime between 1935 and 1942. I find its rendering of simple objects strangely compelling. What stands out to you? Curator: The focus on everyday objects, a plinker and a wood block, suggests an engagement with the means of production, even in a domestic or craft context. How are these materials rendered, and what does that choice signify? Notice how Bluemner's emphasis falls not on the items' potential for "high art", but their humble forms and evident function. Editor: I hadn’t thought of it like that. The deliberate depiction of what appears to be tools highlights a process, even without showing the process itself. It’s less about the result, more about the tools themselves? Curator: Precisely. And think about the implications of using colored pencil, typically a "craft" medium, to depict these objects. Does it elevate the mundane? Or does it suggest a democratization of art, a blurring of the lines between craft and fine art? What about the period of making? Could the need of the artist for simple tools talk about broader production possibilities and restraints? Editor: It definitely feels like a challenge to traditional notions of art-making. So, by showing us these objects, Bluemner is making a statement about value of labor, materials and the accessibility of creation itself? Curator: Exactly. Bluemner invites us to reconsider the art object as a product of specific processes, social contexts, and available materials. A challenge, indeed, to see worth outside the established circles! Editor: I will certainly remember to consider the materials used when looking at any piece of art. Thank you, this perspective makes me see more in it! Curator: My pleasure. The work reveals more if you focus on its substance and process.