Lamp Black 

Editor: Here we see "Lamp Black," made by F. Weber & Company. It’s a simple bottle filled with pigment, a stark reminder of art’s raw materials. What meanings do you find in this seemingly basic object? Curator: This isn't just pigment; it's a marker of labor, extraction, and industrial processes. Who mined the materials? How did it become this refined substance? The bottle itself becomes a container of complex histories, doesn't it? Editor: I hadn't considered the layers of labor involved. Curator: Think about the cultural implications of "blackness," too. How does this pigment, labeled and contained, reflect historical associations with darkness, otherness, or even power? This simple object invites questions about material culture and systemic inequalities. Editor: It makes me think differently about the art-making process and its larger implications. Curator: Exactly. It's a potent reminder that even the simplest elements carry loaded histories.