Donner Summit 1950

Editor: So, this is "Donner Summit," an etching by Roi Partridge, created around 1950. Looking at all the lines, it gives me a sense of being caught between these enormous, unmoving rock formations. Almost claustrophobic, but also really… dramatic? What do you see in this piece? Curator: Oh, it definitely grabs you, doesn’t it? I feel like I’m peering into some ancient world, almost primeval, where the rocks reign supreme. Partridge, with that meticulous line work, really emphasizes the geology – it’s a kind of portrait of deep time. Do you feel any sense of human presence, or lack thereof, apart from the small building perched on top? Editor: That’s interesting – "deep time." Now that you point it out, there is this sense of enduring weight. I was so focused on the claustrophobia, I almost missed how the lone building hints at human presence… but a really small, fragile presence against all that rock. Curator: Precisely! And think about the period: 1950. Post-war America, expanding, building, reaching for the sky… and here’s Partridge, almost deliberately dwarfing that ambition against the monumental landscape. Is it critical? Celebratory? I always come back to how that lone building draws the eye, like an offering, almost. Editor: It definitely complicates the reading. It makes me wonder if he intended to celebrate humanity’s ambition or criticize the lack of respect to nature’s magnificence. I hadn’t thought of it in those terms before! Curator: Art, bless its contrary heart, isn't about simple answers. But the best works keep whispering to us across time, no? Editor: Absolutely! I feel I will look at it differently next time I see it! Curator: Indeed.