Billethead c. 1939

Editor: Here we have Frances Cohen’s “Billethead,” a pencil and colored-pencil drawing on paper, created around 1939. The drawing feels both solid and delicate to me. I'm curious, how do you interpret this work? Curator: It's fascinating how Cohen isolates this architectural detail, isn’t it? It makes me think about how structures, particularly those rooted in classicism, reinforce power dynamics. These elaborate embellishments, so prevalent in government buildings and institutions, often symbolize authority and permanence, and who has access to those things. Have you thought about that at all? Editor: I hadn’t thought of it that way exactly. I was more focused on its formal qualities—the way the artist rendered the textures, for example. Are you saying that even a seemingly simple drawing of architectural detail carries a weight of social and political history? Curator: Precisely. Think about who commissions and controls the spaces in which these “billetheads” reside. This relates to gender, class, and race. Are those in power truly reflective of society? This is not mere decoration; it's a statement – sometimes silent, often deafening – of societal values and priorities. Editor: That’s a powerful way to frame it. So, by isolating this single detail, Cohen might be inviting us to question the entire system it represents? Curator: Absolutely! The close examination is the beginning of any understanding of inequality and potential change. What do you think that we should focus on when we reconsider ideas around monuments, gender, race, and privilege? Editor: I think by showing these hidden meanings, art like Cohen's billethead prompts us to reflect and rethink!