Imagine an Anchor Plate 12 2004

Editor: This is Nathaniel Hester's "Imagine an Anchor Plate 12", a small print, about 13 by 17 centimeters, in the Harvard Art Museums. It looks like a collection of worn objects. What stands out to you? Curator: It’s interesting to consider these discarded objects. What labor did they represent? What social conditions gave rise to their creation and subsequent obsolescence? Editor: So, you're thinking about the stories behind the objects themselves? Curator: Exactly. The printmaking process itself – the labor, the materials involved – mirrors the transformation of these objects. The artist's hand mimics the processes that shaped them. Editor: That gives me a lot to think about! Thanks! Curator: Indeed. These objects and their means of production connect us to larger social and economic systems.