Doll - "Nancy Lou" c. 1937

Editor: This is Rex Bush's watercolor drawing "Doll - 'Nancy Lou'" from around 1937. It’s fascinating – almost unsettling – how the artist depicts this doll. What strikes you about this piece? Curator: I see a fascinating study in the labor involved in the creation of play. Consider the doll itself, likely mass-produced with varying levels of skill and material quality depending on its intended market. Editor: So you're saying the doll is more than just an object? Curator: Exactly. It represents a commodification of childhood, doesn’t it? Look at the drawing too, the precise watercolor technique mirroring the labor that goes into designing, producing, and marketing this kind of doll, especially at that time in history. Is this rendering just documentation, or something more? Editor: I suppose I hadn’t considered it beyond a simple depiction, but now that you point it out, it seems almost critical. There's even what looks like a schematic off to the side there too! Curator: It's not just an image, it is an indexical object pointing to the many facets of industrial production, and how that enters into even childhood. Also, the careful crafting of the watercolor challenges the supposed distinction between "high art" and the "craft" involved in doll making, isn't that interesting? What do you think about that connection? Editor: It really is. Thinking about the time it took the artist to make this drawing, juxtaposed with the likely mass production of the doll...it layers another level of meaning about value and skill. Thank you! Curator: Precisely! Reflecting on the labor and material involved really expands our understanding. It gives this drawing, and the doll, a deeper connection to our shared history and experiences.