Raw Umber 

Curator: This object, titled "Raw Umber," was manufactured by F. Weber & Company, Inc. It features a jar of pigment alongside a color calibration chart. Editor: It strikes me as a meditation on color itself, almost like an archaeological artifact of the artistic process. Curator: Precisely! Weber's company played a crucial role in supplying artists, and this work highlights the commercial infrastructure supporting art creation. The means to make the art. Editor: Right. But I wonder, too, about the deeper implications of extracting and commodifying earth pigments. What is our relationship with earth? Curator: That's a valid point. The industrialization of pigment production certainly changed artists' relationship to their materials and the environment. Editor: And this calibration chart—it's a sterile grid of pure color, so different from the raw potential contained in the jar. There's a tension. Curator: Indeed, it raises questions about standardization and control in art production, a complex relationship that goes beyond mere utility. Editor: Looking at this makes me think about the social and ecological costs embedded in every color we see. Curator: A poignant reminder that even the simplest materials have intricate histories.