Log Marker 1935 - 1942

This is Samuel Faigin's drawing of a "Log Marker." We see three distinct elements that create a dialogue on the paper: the marker’s head with its complex indentations, the marker and its handle, and a sketched impression of the head. The artist gives substantial weight to the marker’s head through careful shading, which creates a dense form, and a sense of the tool’s materiality. The texture is palpable. Placed against the blank ground, the sketch suggests a ghostly echo of the tool's function. The composition destabilizes our expectations, as it challenges the traditional still life. Here, Faigin asks us to consider not only the object itself, but also its purpose, its impression. This encourages a dialogue between form and function, challenging fixed meanings and prompting ongoing interpretation.