Lantern c. 1937

Mildred Ford's drawing, "Lantern," presents a study in tonal variation and geometric forms. The gray pencil on paper captures a utilitarian object with surprising depth. The lantern's conical top and cylindrical body are meticulously rendered, composed of carefully placed perforations. These aren't merely decorative; they define the object's structure, playing with light and shadow to create the illusion of volume. The arrangement of these tiny dots into patterns—stars, circles, and textual inscriptions—reveals an underlying system of order. This echoes structuralist ideas about how meaning is constructed through difference and repetition. The interplay between the lantern's solid form and the implied light that would escape through these perforations suggests a tension between presence and absence. This destabilizes the object's fixed identity, inviting contemplation on illumination, perception, and the subtle poetics of everyday objects.