Company Patch c. 1937

Curator: Chet Harmon La More’s drawing, “Company Patch,” likely completed around 1937, offers a glimpse into urban landscapes of the time, executed in pencil on paper. Editor: It evokes a peculiar feeling; the houses lean and jostle against each other like a cluster of secrets trying to be heard. There is a quiet eeriness that the shading provides. Curator: Indeed. The realism invites close inspection of form. Note the repetition of the vertical clapboards against the sloping rooflines. It establishes a visual rhythm and a sense of ordered yet contained space, wouldn't you agree? Editor: Perhaps. But those stairs climbing to the front doors also recall ladders to precarious situations. The broken windows on the facade suggest hardship, referencing possibly the economic strife of the Depression era. The American Dream seems tarnished here. Curator: While symbolism can provide avenues for interpretation, consider the interplay of light and shadow. The deep blacks articulate depth, but also flatten certain planes. The manipulation of contrast draws attention to the abstract forms inherent in architecture. Editor: Even so, there’s an implicit social commentary embedded within the picture, I think. Row upon row of near-identical houses suggest a conformity perhaps enforced by economic circumstances, almost a sense of imposed community, or perhaps a lack thereof, within such cramped confines. Curator: Certainly, that tension between uniformity and individual existence can be seen as inherent in the design itself, echoing the feelings of societal restraint of the time. But one cannot forget the technical facility, in his use of stark linear contrast in service to realism. Editor: A successful synthesis, wouldn't you agree? A narrative of social and psychological space brought to life using technical prowess. Food for thought indeed! Curator: Certainly, "Company Patch" offers more than an appealing composition, I leave feeling haunted by these forgotten houses and inhabitants, a memory of a difficult past visualized for our modern experience.