The New Cable
Sybil Andrews Canadian, born England
Not on view
In this linocut, a small group of men strain to maneuver a giant cable and the massive drum around which it is coiled. The jagged rows of teeth indicating layers of cable recall mechanized elements seen in earlier depictions of industrialization, yet Andrews’s image signifies more than technological and industrial power. The men’s contorted bodies laud the human toil, raw physicality, and teamwork that underpinned manufacturing as well as telegraphy, telephony, and other systems that marked the new age. With their angular forms, blank faces, and green-and-brown uniforms, these anonymous figures resemble interchangeable machine products. Made during a global depression when British unemployment soared, The New Cable depicts the connectivity, labor, and frequently overlooked, unglamorous actions that were essential to modern life.
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