The Forges 1917

Curator: Right now we are looking at Joseph Pennell’s etching from 1917, called *The Forges*. Immediately, it evokes this cavernous, industrial interior. What stands out for you, first impression? Editor: Overwhelming. It feels like being swallowed whole by the Industrial Revolution, doesn't it? The immensity of the space, dwarfing the human figures… there's a sense of both awe and… oppression. Curator: Absolutely, Pennell had this fascination with industry and infrastructure, often rendering these monumental spaces, though he seemed mostly interested in depicting industry as powerful, beautiful, sublime. It’s interesting he chose etching and graphite, mediums that create such potent contrast. Editor: Yes, there’s something inherently political about turning these engines of production into objects of art. And think about when this was made—1917, amidst World War I. How are we to understand this industrial space in relation to the global theater of war? Curator: Ah, context as the ultimate illuminator. Perhaps it is an ambivalent homage to that power: yes, a celebration of technological prowess, but equally an acknowledgement of its entanglement with human cost. What a balance. He seemed determined to make industry seem noble; it doesn’t feel fully convincing though, does it? Editor: Pennell's own privileged position likely colors his view. The perspective we get is not of those whose labor is essential to the war machine, but as a detached observer who sees grandeur without necessarily acknowledging the plight and danger the laborers face. Whose story are we really seeing here? Curator: It invites such a wide range of stories, though! And its abstraction, this beautiful haze around harsh mechanics, feels like the most profound invitation—that art can be the forge where we rework our assumptions. What do we carry out with us? Editor: Exactly. The stories and meaning we bring can either cement social hierarchies or give us a place to reimagine them. This work has a real capacity to become an anvil, if we're prepared to do some hard intellectual work.