Gothic Chair c. 1940

Editor: So this is "Gothic Chair" by Rosa Rivero, circa 1940. It's a pencil drawing of a wooden chair, and the first thing I notice is how realistically she's captured the wood grain. What jumps out at you when you see this piece? Curator: The drawing compels us to consider the chair not just as a functional object, but as the product of labor and materiality. The realism that you point out really highlights the hand of the craftsman who would have produced this kind of chair, perhaps questioning the separation of “art” and “craft." The pencil rendering mirrors the craft of carpentry. Editor: That's an interesting way to think about it. So the drawing is in some ways acting as a substitute for the real object? Curator: Precisely. Consider also the “Gothic” label attached to this humble object. Are we meant to think about historical class divides, perhaps about who had access to these material goods and their cultural references? How does Rivero’s drawing serve to democratize this particular piece? Editor: That makes me think about how accessible drawing as a medium is compared to carpentry, especially chair making. Drawing makes the form accessible. The material limitations are erased, but also brought to attention by way of mimicking another art-making technique. Curator: Exactly! Think about what this drawing asks of its viewers, too. Rivero is pointing us to reflect on production, consumption, and the values we place on different forms of labor. We're encouraged to engage critically with the systems that create the objects we encounter daily. Editor: I've never thought about a chair, or its drawing, in quite this way before! It shows me there's so much more to see beyond just the surface. Curator: Indeed, this close attention to craft invites us to appreciate not just the finished object but the entire web of relationships that bring it into being.