Roofs and Sky 1939

Editor: This is Louis Lozowick's "Roofs and Sky" from 1939, it’s a print, maybe a watercolour. There's a really interesting starkness to it. What do you see in this piece? Curator: For me, Lozowick’s “Roofs and Sky” is all about celebrating the hard geometry of the modern city. It's like a hymn to industry, those simplified shapes singing of smokestacks and skyscrapers. Makes you think, doesn't it, how artists in the early 20th century were grappling with a rapidly changing world? How would you visually represent the changing urban landscape? Editor: I see that. The stark shapes definitely make it feel very modern. Almost cold. Curator: Cold maybe, but intentionally so. It is not really celebrating humanity; more the shapes humans create, a bit like early robotics celebrated how machines mimicked organic forms. He’s capturing the monumental scale and imposing presence of these structures. It's a very conscious aesthetic choice, a removal of the human element. Editor: That’s a really interesting point. The buildings become the subject themselves, rather than the people who occupy them. I hadn’t thought of it that way. So Lozowick isn't criticizing, just observing? Curator: I think so. He’s fascinated by the urban landscape, and he’s using geometry and precise lines to capture that fascination, offering us a glimpse into the mindset of an artist in the age of industrial progress. Editor: That’s great. I feel like I have a better understanding of Lozowick's mindset now. Curator: Art history can feel so remote sometimes, but then you find little pockets of humanity like Lozowick who reminds you what we build reflects ourselves back at us.