Figurehead c. 1937

Editor: This is Elizabeth Moutal's watercolor drawing, "Figurehead," from around 1937. It’s a really interesting rendering, kind of flattened. It gives me a folksy yet neoclassical vibe. What stands out to you about it? Curator: What intrigues me is its focus on the labor involved in representation. This isn't just about depicting an object; it’s about revealing the process of how that object, a figurehead, itself signifies something larger—commerce, perhaps empire. Editor: That's interesting. I was focused on the artistic technique, but the figurehead as a commercial object makes sense. The wooden figurehead being made real through watercolor? Curator: Precisely. We see an emphasis on the materiality of the wood it is supposed to depict. Notice how the rendering attempts to simulate the effects of age, wear, and perhaps even a kind of deliberate, almost vernacular carving, underscoring its existence as both art object and a component produced for wider economic purposes. Editor: So, you are talking less about what it is and more about how it’s constructed to be representative? It also seems like that method reflects what artists thought of that time, but still references the neoclassical era. Curator: Yes, absolutely! How the watercolor material replicates, but also alters, our understanding. Think about its function. It wasn't created as "high art" for a gallery, and even this study itself has been reworked with flat surfaces to feel both handmade and classical, blurring the boundary between industrial product, handmade object and traditional "fine art". This brings an appreciation to these forms. Editor: So cool. It changes the entire understanding and makes me want to research similar artists who also focused on this process! Curator: Exactly! By centering process, material and the historical context in which the watercolor and figurehead were created, we avoid simple notions of beauty and genius. I really enjoyed that conversation.