Edmund C. S. Bigelow 1924

Editor: This is Denman Waldo Ross's sketch, "Edmund C. S. Bigelow." It's just pencil on paper, seemingly a quick study. The visible construction lines are interesting. What strikes you about its process? Curator: The process reveals a lot. Notice the visible lines, almost diagrammatic. They speak to the artist's labor, the literal construction of the image. This wasn't about effortless representation, but about a material engagement, a means of production. Editor: So, you are suggesting that we see the labor more than the likeness? Curator: Precisely. It challenges the traditional idea of the artist as solely focused on aesthetics. Instead, we witness the act of making, the materiality of the pencil, the paper. Even the signature, "DWR Jan. 1st 1924" becomes part of this material record. Editor: I hadn't thought about the signature that way. Seeing the date almost like another material. Curator: Exactly. It's about acknowledging the physical act of creation as much as the subject itself. Editor: That reframes how I think about sketches. Thanks!