Cast Iron Balcony Rail c. 1936

Curator: This pencil drawing from around 1936 is titled "Cast Iron Balcony Rail." It was created by Ray Price. What's grabbing you right off the bat? Editor: Well, beyond the superb detail, there's a melancholy feeling that emanates from the somber hues and rigid lines. Irony is starkly suggested with the chubby cupids being used in functional construction. It makes me think of privilege and who gets access to beauty, both historically and in the present. Curator: Yes! You hit on something for me. Even rendered in pencil, you sense the heft and density of the iron, and its contrast with these chubby babies and circular details adds a certain kind of whimsy—almost as if sweetness is trying to sneak past the barriers and gates. The babies look like they want out. Editor: Precisely! Who are these cupids for? Does their presence offer a false sense of innocence, maybe obscuring the harsh economic realities encoded within such architecture? Whose gaze is actually being addressed, and whose is excluded? Thinking about gender here: in the public or private space does one find liberation? Does beauty exist, at least in this construction, as another patriarchal cage? Curator: Heavy, I get it, you are reading between the lines! For me it feels more immediate—literally trapped but wanting release. A sort of yearning and perhaps hopefulness. Think about what a balcony is…a stage, a personal space. One is inside yet presented. You exist at once privately, internally and yet in conversation or tension with the public. Ray Price captured such in-between space that feels intimate despite being of such stoic metal. Editor: Right! That delicate balancing act between the domestic and public spheres...The composition, too—the artist chose this specific section of the rail, cropping the full view, placing us both inside and outside at once, questioning this idea of private access! There's such an inherent conflict that this single iron presents, a narrative worth digging deeper into...it feels less melancholic now and more... urgent. Curator: Exactly. Urgency! Thank you, you brought this balcony drawing to life for me, revealing its quiet rebelliousness. I look forward to a warm day soon, with the sunlight breaking though some new balconies where our perspectives and lives may mingle together and inspire!