Section of Wall Decoration-Mission San Francisco de Assis (Dolores) c. 1940

Editor: This is "Section of Wall Decoration-Mission San Francisco de Assis (Dolores)," a pencil drawing from around 1940 by Hilda Olson. There's a quiet, repetitive nature to these geometric shapes, like a simplified landscape of pyramids and moons. What can you tell us about its place in history and how we understand it today? Curator: This work is fascinating when viewed through the lens of institutional influence on artistic production. We see decorative art, a field often relegated to the applied arts or craft, documented by an artist whose biography is still quite obscure. Its very title frames it as a section, a fragment, extracted and perhaps sanitized from its original context within the Mission. Editor: Sanitized? How so? Curator: The Mission system was fraught with power dynamics, the subjugation of indigenous populations central to its operations. Presenting this purely as 'decoration' perhaps obscures that history. How does viewing this drawing in our current social climate shape your perspective? Editor: I hadn’t considered that. Knowing the Missions’ complex history definitely complicates its reception. It's no longer just a decorative pattern; it becomes a reflection of power structures. Does the aesthetic choice to focus on geometry and simplification also play into that? Curator: Precisely. The choice of form contributes to the sanitization by omitting any overt figurative references to the people and struggles inherent to the Mission's function. Geometric shapes become a safe, depoliticized language. How do you see the museum’s role in exhibiting works like these, which have such complicated pasts? Editor: Museums definitely have a responsibility to provide context, to not shy away from that complex history. Simply presenting it as a pleasing pattern does a disservice to the communities affected by the Mission system. I guess that's what makes this more than "just" decoration. Curator: Exactly! It prompts a critical dialogue about representation, power, and the ethical responsibilities of institutions exhibiting such artwork. It goes to show, visual pleasure does not need to be dismissed or censored but analyzed and framed as such.