Match Holder c. 1936

Editor: This is Albert Eyth’s “Match Holder,” a watercolor and drawing created around 1936. It feels whimsical, almost surreal. The pale hand holding a delicate, decorative fan-like structure seems oddly precious for something so utilitarian. What historical narratives do you see embedded within this piece? Curator: Given its date, this match holder speaks volumes about the transition of everyday objects during the Depression era and beyond. Mass production met with a nostalgia for the handcrafted, I wonder who might have commissioned it. The visual language – the almost ethereal rendering in watercolor, the hand’s delicate grasp – suggests a critique of consumerism, presenting the mundane, like a match holder, with a level of artistic appreciation that subverts its intended use. Consider the role matches played. Does this elevate them to a sign of societal anxiety? Editor: Anxiety? Because matches represent things catching fire and maybe people worried about their homes? Or is it more about the fading away of a time when such detailed craftmanship would go into a small item? Curator: Perhaps a bit of both. The match, representing fire and potential change in society. More broadly, during that time the image itself begins to hold the craft while industry is trying to make these items in metal. Do you notice anything unsettling? Perhaps it challenges notions of worth and artistic intent in a rapidly changing world, giving worth to a soon-to-be antiquated form of making fire. Editor: It makes me think about how even the most mundane items can tell really interesting stories about what society values. I will definitely keep this in mind as I view other works. Curator: Exactly, It prompts us to consider who has access to such displays of fragile wealth. Now, every time I strike a match, I will think about this image.