Marjo wordt ontslagen before 1946

Editor: So, here we have Eddy de Smet's "Marjo wordt ontslagen," likely made before 1946. It’s a drawing in ink – quite a striking caricature, actually. The composition feels really loaded; you've got this woman at a typewriter seemingly being berated by two men. What jumps out at you about this work? Curator: For me, it’s about the materials and process of its creation. Look at the lines, the varying pressure, the clear economy of ink. This isn't just about illustrating a scene. De Smet is using readily available, cheap materials – ink and paper – to create a powerful commentary on labor relations, probably reflective of anxieties surrounding job security during and after the war period. Note the phrase handwritten on the drawing: what do you make of the reference to "cliché"? Editor: Well, given that it's a caricature depicting an office scene, maybe the artist felt constrained using clichés for quick readability, but still managed to convey something relevant. The label pinned on the manager's jacket suggests a lack of identity, or at least dehumanization. What could that mean for the piece? Curator: Exactly! Consider the production process of commercial illustration, which requires shorthand and recognition; De Smet is operating within certain material conditions dictated by this specific type of commission, but then manipulates those expectations through exaggeration. How do these techniques then reveal hierarchies of power, particularly between labor and management, consumer and product? Editor: That makes so much sense now! So by looking at the very materials and how the artist chose to work with them, you start to see these deeper societal and economic critiques embedded in a seemingly simple drawing. Curator: Precisely! And it's through the labor of the artist, the tools they use, and how these interact with cultural context that we really start to understand what the art *is*.