Evening 1929

Editor: Wanda Gág's "Evening," a linocut from 1929 currently residing here at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, possesses an immediate stillness that feels almost...eerie? The contrast is really stark. What do you make of this piece? Curator: Eerie is such an interesting choice of word, yet accurate I think. It certainly possesses an intense mood. Gág's woodcuts and linocuts, like this one, often depict interior scenes imbued with a personal symbolism. The sharp contrast emphasizes the play of light and shadow. Doesn't the spotlight effect of the lamp falling on the spinning wheel draw you in? What feelings arise when you consider the artist and her potential story of daily life? Editor: I hadn't thought about it that way – like the single lit light bulb of my studio after pulling an all-nighter and everyone is asleep! But why the spinning wheel? It seems a bit...archaic for 1929. Curator: Exactly! The spinning wheel evokes notions of domesticity, craftsmanship, even fairy tales! It's as if Gág is hinting at timeless, elemental forces at play. There is a real quality to Gág and her peers' imagery; I always feel her mark when seeing her art. Do you get the sense of this almost raw intimacy into her domestic life? The mood can almost become brooding but she invites us into her studio. Editor: Brooding is perfect! And I think knowing the title, "Evening," really reinforces that feeling, and her inviting the viewer inside is definitely happening for me now too. It does give that quality that she is comfortable with me to have that deep look into her personal surroundings. Curator: And maybe now, when we look at it as a slice of someone else’s daily routine, we feel almost nostalgic, that the wheel could begin spinning again. Editor: So, it’s both intensely personal, but it also speaks to something universal about the end of the day? Curator: Precisely. The work speaks volumes. The end.