The Transports 1917

Editor: This graphite drawing is called "The Transports," created in 1917 by Joseph Pennell. There's a dense cluster of ships and a mass of people near the docks. The mood feels very active, very industrious, but also slightly chaotic with all that smoke. What do you make of it? Curator: The smoke is interesting. It’s almost as though it’s emanating not just from the ships, but from the very activity, the combined energy of the figures and vessels themselves. Visually, the smoke blurs distinctions between forms, flattening the space while also giving a palpable sense of depth. It makes me think about collective action. What’s being transported here? Editor: I guess it could be soldiers or supplies, heading off to war. World War I was raging at that time. Curator: Exactly. Consider how Pennell uses established symbols: the ship as a vessel of transition and the crowd signifying collective will. Are these transports vehicles of hope, of strength, or of something else entirely, considering the historical context? And who do you think is doing the transporting? To what end? Editor: Hmm. It is complex. I see both excitement and anxiety now – the unknown destinations, the reasons for the travel. There's a feeling of patriotic fervor tinged with a little bit of dread. Curator: The ambivalence is key. The image functions almost like a shared dream—or nightmare—in which powerful, deeply rooted symbols play out a drama of national identity and global conflict. What new meanings can we unearth when we look through that lens? Editor: I’ve definitely learned to look more closely at the symbolism. It’s like unlocking a secret language within the art. Curator: Indeed. And that language speaks volumes about not only the time the artwork was created, but our own time as well.