Bottle 1935 - 1942

Editor: Here we have S. Brodsky’s "Bottle," likely made sometime between 1935 and 1942, created with watercolor and colored pencil. There's something so delicate about it. What strikes you most when you look at it? Curator: I find the apparent simplicity quite deceiving. Consider the labour involved. Glassware during this period was often mass-produced yet attempts were made to maintain an illusion of handmade artistry with applied decorations. Brodsky, with her choice of medium, invites us to contemplate the economic forces shaping both the production and consumption of such objects. Notice how the depiction blurs the distinction between a functional object and a decorative commodity. Editor: So, you're saying the choice of colored pencil and watercolor is significant in highlighting that tension between mass production and the handmade? Curator: Precisely. The meticulous rendering, the attention to detail – these mimic the processes of handcrafting, while simultaneously acknowledging the object’s origin within a broader system of production and value. It begs the question: what is being valued here, the craft or the commodity? What function does this object provide? And who, during the era this was created, would be able to afford such commodities? Editor: That makes me rethink how I initially viewed it. It’s not just a pretty bottle anymore. I'm now considering social structures related to that type of commodity and whether the bottle suggests mass consumption, luxury goods or something else entirely. Thanks, that was a great help! Curator: And it's been a valuable experience to reconsider an everyday object and question its context and embedded social history. Thank you for your insight.