Lock and Key c. 1938

Editor: We’re looking at Maurice Van Felix’s “Lock and Key,” a pencil drawing from around 1938. The image is stark and realistically rendered; I’m struck by the object’s… ordinariness? It's a mundane object, yet the artist chose it as a subject. How do you interpret this work? Curator: I see this drawing as deeply connected to the social and political atmosphere of the late 1930s. On the surface, it’s a detailed depiction of a lock and key. However, given the period – looming war, rising authoritarianism – one could interpret it as a commentary on security, control, and perhaps even isolation. What does a lock signify in such times? Editor: Control, certainly. Perhaps fear? I didn’t immediately connect it to the period, but it makes sense. The broken edge of the lock plate seems to emphasize a loss of control, like it has been forced open in the past. Does the gallery showing this influence how we perceive it? Curator: Absolutely. Where this work is displayed – whether it's a national institution or a smaller, independent gallery – undeniably shapes our reading. If it were placed, for example, in a section focusing on pre-war anxieties, the reading would become even more defined. How does that realization influence how you initially saw this object? Editor: Knowing its historical context encourages me to examine not only its literal image but what the subject of "Lock and Key" may mean beyond the surface. I came looking for beauty, but I’m leaving with a richer understanding. Curator: Precisely. Art serves as a reflection of society. Looking beyond the object and asking about context is crucial to grasping its public role, especially works seemingly straightforward.