Mona, from the Ballet Queens series (N182) issued by Wm. S. Kimball & Co. 1889

Editor: Here we have "Mona, from the Ballet Queens series," created by William S. Kimball & Co. in 1889. It's a small print, almost like a trading card, and the figure is rendered in colored pencil. The boldness of the colors really grabs you. What are your thoughts on this piece? Curator: Looking at the materials used – the colored pencil and the printmaking process – tells us a lot. These were mass-produced items, circulated widely as promotional material for tobacco. The subject matter—ballet dancers—links this image to broader trends of popular entertainment and leisure culture aimed at consumers. Do you see any hints of labor within the piece? Editor: I guess I hadn’t really thought about the context of it being used for advertising. It does feel…commercial, now that you mention it. Curator: Consider the female figure. How do you read the representation of labor and value within her representation? Is she a worker, or an object of consumption? Editor: I see what you mean. She’s being presented, almost packaged, for consumption herself. It feels very different than how we think about "high art." Curator: Precisely. This card disrupts our understanding of artistic production because it links the aesthetic appeal of a depicted ballerina directly to a commodified object (tobacco), and by extension, a network of manufacturing, labor and trade. It also challenges how we usually approach a "drawing," as it has less to do with traditional art and more with consumer culture and promotion. How does understanding its function as a commercial object change your initial perception? Editor: I now understand how the printmaking process made it mass-producible for a wider audience. Curator: Right, so next time we can also ask how does consumerism affect what kind of artistic expression becomes available?