[Gühring Drill Bits]
One need not be a specialist to appreciate Adolf Lazi’s work for the industrial sector. His lineup of drill bits, cut in crisp ribbons and licked by light, could drive even the maladroit machinist to desire. "Lazi will not rest until the least important thing is depicted with precision," a colleague once quipped. But as a sharp-edged objectivity swept the German art world, Lazi’s exacting attention to materials suited clients keen to cash in on the movement. His own accounts—published in self-promotional manuals and guides—stressed a cerebral rather than commercial approach, by which "empathy for the object" could bring all manner of "dead things" to life. So animated are his banal bits of metal that their glinting grooves seem almost to spin.
Artwork Details
- Title: [Gühring Drill Bits]
- Artist: Adolf Lazi (German, 1884–1955)
- Date: 1935
- Medium: Gelatin silver print
- Dimensions: 23.4 x 17.5 cm (9 3/16 x 6 7/8 in.)
Frame: 17 x 14 in. - Classification: Photographs
- Credit Line: Ford Motor Company Collection, Gift of Ford Motor Company and John C. Waddell, 1987
- Object Number: 1987.1100.306
- Curatorial Department: Photographs
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