Desk (Lady's) c. 1940

Editor: This watercolor and ink drawing, “Desk (Lady’s)” by Georgine E. Mason, circa 1940, it seems to capture the object, not so much for what it is, but what it represents. How would you interpret this work through a materialist lens? Curator: Precisely! It's about more than just the desk. We must consider the materials—the wood, the paint, the ink—and the labor involved in producing both the desk itself and this image of it. Who had access to these materials, and who performed this labor? What was the social function of such furniture during that time? Editor: It definitely suggests a certain level of wealth and privilege. Were these types of desks common? Curator: “Common” is relative. A desk like this speaks to a specific consumer base, likely upper-middle-class women with leisure time. It signifies status and, to some extent, the commodification of domesticity. Mason's act of drawing it using ink and watercolor elevates a potentially mass-produced item into art, drawing our attention to its details and construction. Do you notice how the artist rendered the wood grain and hardware? What might that tell us? Editor: It looks really cared for. Maybe about slowing down, thinking about furniture and its purpose rather than mass consumption. Curator: Excellent point. This focus highlights the artistic labor of depicting a domestic object, but it also asks: who could afford such an object, and at whose expense? It’s a question about both production and consumption. Editor: So by looking at the materials and processes involved, we reveal so much more about the society that produced it! Curator: Exactly. It's not just a pretty picture; it's a document of social relations embedded in material culture. It allows us to consider the impact of making and consuming on our understanding of status.