Match Holder c. 1939

Curator: This is a drawing of a carved wood “Match Holder” created circa 1939, likely a design drawing attributed to Chris Makrenos. Editor: Striking! There's something melancholic about the somber palette and the way the light catches those ornate, almost Baroque swirls. Curator: Indeed, the tenebrism at play, even in what appears to be a design rendering, guides the eye immediately toward the face. Notice the way the artist has deployed these repeating vegetal forms, animating what would otherwise be merely representational with semiotic charge. Editor: Well, match holders, generally, in the 1930s would often feature prominently in domestic spaces, so it makes sense that an artist might use the aesthetic language of the past, recalling an era of craftsmanship to offset, perhaps, anxieties about the period’s mass production and economic turmoil. Curator: Observe also the artist's handling of proportion. The size and detail of the face contrast boldly with the elongated, almost abstract quality of the flourishes toward the base, setting up an engaging dynamic between the figurative and the purely decorative. Editor: The portrait feels stylized but is also, undoubtedly, of a type: idealized female figure, coy, fashionable hat… This might be interpreted as a sort of accessible, aspirational image, a gentle nod toward high culture integrated into something as banal as storing matches. There’s a social and political aspect to something that exists so visibly in one’s home, don't you agree? Curator: I grant you that an object's accessibility broadens its reach, even a humble match holder, but in assessing its merits, the rigorous structure of the artwork cannot be ignored. Consider the dramatic interplay of curves and shadows—essential to understanding its composition. Editor: I suppose, fundamentally, art persists within the boundaries of aesthetic criteria but transcends into the landscape of culture, its interpretation swayed by currents of thought. What endures are multifaceted readings gleaned over time. Curator: Perhaps the true "artwork," then, is the accumulation of these diverse engagements. Editor: Quite. Food for thought indeed.