Doorway 1935 - 1942

Curator: This drawing, “Doorway,” was created by Pearl Davis sometime between 1935 and 1942. It's rendered in pencil and demonstrates Davis's affinity for architectural subjects. What's your initial take? Editor: Stark and solid. The geometrical patterning and use of line and shadow give the impression of imposing permanence, and, honestly, a bit of foreboding, even. Curator: I see what you mean. It's undeniably solid, but the detailed pencil work, the gradations, add an element of delicate softness that almost—but doesn't quite—counterbalance the harshness. Do you think that it resembles an actual doorway, or is it something imagined? Editor: Knowing its dates of creation, one can begin to contextualize it. The 30s and early 40s mark a distinct period for Realist artists reflecting nationalistic sentiments amid global tensions. While the architecture, like the drawing style itself, resembles something "found," it evokes the importance of a fixed cultural identity at a crucial moment in history. How else can we account for its unyielding structure? Curator: That makes sense in light of the political backdrop, I think that it also mirrors the artist’s attention to technique. Consider her handling of light and shadow; the way it contours every stone. It’s precise but—dare I say—almost playful? I imagine she enjoyed focusing on these details. Editor: But playful toward what ends? We must think of accessibility, of who these doors may shut out, historically and continually. The subject becomes less playful, as you say, than fraught with complexity, embedded in its structural solidity and the very precision of the rendering itself. How, then, can art become the opposite of an aesthetic door slammed shut? Curator: So, maybe it’s not playful. Maybe I was searching for lightness where it might not exist. It feels more complex, burdened even, which somehow makes me feel like it is very personal to the artist. Editor: Indeed. From both the intimacy of the artistic work itself and the historical forces bearing upon Davis during its creation, this is hardly just a doorway we're observing, but, more to the point, an entrance or an exit through time itself.