Flatiron c. 1940

Curator: This pencil drawing, created around 1940 by Maurice Van Felix, is entitled "Flatiron". It presents a detailed study of an old-fashioned clothes iron. Editor: The textures are incredible; there's a real weight to the object in this rendering. A solidity that speaks to the labour it represents. But also… a stark, cold stillness. It's not inviting. Curator: Indeed. One can interpret its stillness in relation to domesticity, but consider how societal expectations of women at that time were themselves being critiqued. Art Deco designs were streamlining forms and functions as the modern women gained momentum, even through world conflict. An academic exercise, sure, but also an object study steeped in transition. Editor: I notice the artist paid close attention to the handle, with its rope or cord wrapping. It evokes both function – protecting hands from heat – and also perhaps a nautical symbol of binding and labour. What do you make of the attention given the eroded base; it seems disproportionate somehow. Curator: I see your point, it contrasts the presumed function, this wear. The formal aesthetic tradition values accurate rendering as a record, and one reads in the record commentary reflecting the contemporary concerns, class anxiety during the lead up to and duration of the war perhaps. The handle, smooth with purposeful form versus the base, a heavy well worn form… Editor: Interesting…I get this sense that Van Felix, deliberately drew a kind of weariness into the mundane object. I’m captivated by what at first seemed a simple drawing of domestic object but I notice how subtly he conveyed meaning to it. Curator: Art invites those dialogues; each artist invites it in unique ways to provide unique interpretations to contemporary audiences. Editor: Well, seeing how much one simple, everyday object contains, makes you rethink everything you see!