Theatre Magic 1939

Curator: We're looking at "Theatre Magic," a 1939 graphite drawing and print by Lawrence Beall Smith. It depicts a figure gazing down from a theater balcony. What's your first impression? Editor: Gloomy, yet captivating. There’s something melancholic about the downward gaze of the figure that's emphasized by the cool tones and detailed rendering. Curator: Yes, Smith really draws the eye through meticulous shading. He balances dark tones to create dramatic light. One wonders about Smith’s creative labor in choosing to depict this perspective in such a stark medium. I am struck by how the smooth surface suggests high production value, further reinforced by the crisp detail of the cherubic figures below. Editor: I read that perspective as loaded. We’re placed both above and somewhat outside the performance, watching this solitary figure. It speaks to spectatorship itself. I can't help but feel like he is not part of the theatre's cultural moment but rather marginalized from the gaiety, positioned apart and alienated. Is he unable or unwilling to perform? Curator: Interesting point about performance and participation, how Smith captures the process of making art, not merely reflecting the aesthetic, I'm considering the labor needed for each individual print in his edition and I also wonder what commentary he may be making about class and access. Editor: Exactly! It provokes questions about belonging and exclusion. This theatre, full of mythological imagery and potentiality, stands in opposition to his own somber visage, the reality of his face in opposition to this “Theatre Magic.” We consider who gets to access, enjoy, and participate within those imagined spaces of both theatre and art itself. Curator: Agreed. This print, likely widely reproduced, has the capacity to reflect cultural experience across social lines by being made available for all people regardless of access. The means of artistic production, then, reflect upon its distribution as well as reception, I suppose. Editor: Precisely. The starkness of the medium further underscores the distance between the figure’s reality and the magical potential the theater is supposed to hold, reminding us that the promise of spectacle isn’t always equally available. Curator: A compelling consideration. Thanks for lending your perspective. Editor: Of course, a joy as always!