Crossings by Walter de la Mare 1923

Curator: Here we have "Crossings" by Dorothy Lathrop, created in 1923. What are your immediate impressions? Editor: A sense of the ethereal. The stark contrast between the figure and the night sky, and those peculiar stylized stars—it lends the whole piece a dreamlike quality, almost otherworldly. Curator: Indeed. Lathrop’s piece illustrates a selection from Walter de la Mare's poem, focusing on fantasy art with strong symbolism in monochrome drawings. Note the artist’s use of the line—it seems almost delicate in places. What can you read from that formal quality? Editor: Well, look at the economy of the line in rendering the gazelle-like creature. Its posture suggests a lightness of step, contrasting against the figure on its back who appears, somehow, both weighty and weightless at once. How did the medium of drawing contribute to the artwork's impact during that time? Curator: During this era, line drawings, and specifically illustrations, became very common within mass print productions; thus the consumption of artwork became much more of an affordable commodity for everyday citizens. The figure on the strange beast's back, could you tell me what symbolic notions arise from this? Editor: The figure, poised and serene, could signify a higher plane of consciousness, of transcendence, as suggested through their ethereal garments. This could have possibly arisen through Lathrop’s life growing up in an artist colony surrounded by radical creatives. It also suggests freedom from earthly restraints; but this is just a starting point in a complex system. What’s fascinating to me is how the materiality of a simple ink drawing, seemingly mass producible at first glance, works against these restraints, achieving an intimate delicacy with its fine strokes. Curator: Right, a perfect blending of labor-saving technology, social messaging, and accessibility! I love that tension; this examination reveals something deeper than first anticipated! Editor: Exactly. I had just expected it to just reveal fantasy, but found how fantasy and society played off each other instead.