Flat Iron Holder c. 1940

Curator: Well, if that isn’t an ode to domesticity rendered in delicate pencil strokes. Editor: Yes, and to be specific, what we have here is a drawing by Donald Harding, made around 1940. It's called "Flat Iron Holder". Curator: The realism just grounds it. It’s like… finding beauty in the everyday, even something as utilitarian as a stand for a flat iron. The details are amazing; he's captured that almost brutalist, filigree so precisely! You can almost feel the heat radiating off it. Editor: Right. We have to consider that something like an iron, an agent of the maintenance of appearance, represents, in a very tangible way, the social expectations of women. Curator: Absolutely, but look at that design! The repeating shapes, almost floral. Is this Harding seeing the design that transcends the intended function? Perhaps it is a social commentary? Editor: I’d argue that there is a pointed decision being made by the artist to elevate an everyday object that signifies so much gendered labour. By focusing on the flat iron holder, it gives the item significance. It almost argues against that labor being something "insignificant." Curator: That’s insightful. It certainly brings up the unseen efforts that prop up what we consider normal, almost erasing labour in the wake of a crease-free world. It makes you wonder about Harding and his world view to draw this. It’s almost radical, to focus so lovingly on a quiet revolution that he captures with a muted palette! Editor: Ultimately, the drawing highlights the artistry inherent in functional objects while implicitly critiquing the systems of power linked with gender and class. Curator: So, here we are—a modest holder transformed into something that gently whispers of forgotten lives and untold stories. A tiny revolution drawn in pencil. Editor: Precisely, a starting point for reconsidering the narratives of gender, class, and labour intertwined with everyday objects.