Head of a Child c. 20th century

Editor: Here we have Joseph Arthur Coletti's "Head of a Child," a marble sculpture at the Harvard Art Museums. It’s quite small and incredibly smooth. What's your take on it? Curator: The use of marble is critical. Think about the labor involved in extracting, transporting, and carving this material. Its preciousness elevates the subject, yet the industrial processes required to shape it create a tension. How does that interplay between material value and human labor affect your understanding? Editor: It's a thought, the tension between craft and industry. I hadn't considered the implications of the material itself. Curator: Exactly. Reflecting on those implications reframes the work itself.