Pitcher c. 1938

This is Paul Schreckengost’s “Pitcher,” a ceramic work which is currently held at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. Schreckengost was born in 1908, and died in 1983. During the early twentieth century, the American art scene was shifting, and new ideas about art and industry were emerging. Artists like Schreckengost, who were working during the machine age, began to emphasize functional design and mass production, rather than the creation of entirely unique pieces. Schreckengost was an industrial designer and ceramicist who explored the intersection of art and commerce. What does it mean to make something in an age of mass production? Does it change our emotional relationship to the things we use? This piece is a physical representation of these questions. The Pitcher has elegant, streamlined curves, juxtaposed with sharp, geometric lines, creating a harmonious balance between tradition and modernity.