Vigas c. 1937

Margery Parish created this watercolor rendering titled, Vigas. It depicts scaled representations of painted ceiling beams, or vigas. Margery Parish was associated with the Index of American Design, a New Deal project which ran from 1935-1942. The Index employed artists to document American decorative and folk arts. These artists, like Parish, played a crucial role in preserving cultural heritage during the Depression era. Their work offers insights into the aesthetic values and cultural identities of various communities across the United States. This work suggests some vital questions around cultural preservation, and who gets to decide what aspects of a culture are deemed worthy of preservation. It also speaks to gendered labor: the labor of women like Parish which has historically been overlooked and under-credited. The painting asks us to consider the emotional and cultural value of everyday objects. What stories do these vigas tell us about the lives of the people who lived beneath them?