Skin Covered Trunk c. 1939

Curator: This is Russell Madole’s “Skin Covered Trunk,” likely created around 1939, rendered in watercolor and colored pencil. What's your initial take? Editor: There’s a stillness to it, almost melancholic. It evokes a sense of age, of stories locked away, literally and figuratively. Curator: Indeed. The choice of materials speaks volumes. Watercolor and colored pencil, often relegated to studies or illustration, are employed to depict a common object. What does this choice tell us about art versus craft, value, or labor? Editor: And about memory! The trunk is depicted with meticulous detail – the leather's texture, the worn edges, metalwork – it becomes a container for personal histories. Is Madole, through this genre-painting, also critiquing class, access, what is stored and what remains hidden, considering this was created during the great depression? Curator: Absolutely. Consider the process itself: the layering of watercolor to mimic aged leather, the precise rendering of the hardware. It elevates the everyday, demanding we confront the means of artistic production and acknowledge the often-overlooked labor involved in even the simplest acts of representation. Madole forces us to confront materiality. Editor: Thinking of access, it highlights who can afford ornate, historical trunks like these. Madole uses such meticulous care in rendering this commonplace object; it reminds us to reflect on our relationships with belongings and the class, racial, gender and economic stratifications inherent in their collection. Curator: Agreed, the trunk isn't merely an object; it embodies narratives of class, access and perhaps even hidden histories. By focusing on its materiality, Madole provides a subtle, but impactful social commentary on the realities of the 1930s, prompting viewers to consider who has, who lacks, and how objects reflect and shape identity. Editor: The careful rendering of a mundane object reminds us that even within apparent simplicity lies a complexity of experience and social stratification, particularly relevant to the historical moment in which Madole created this art. Curator: It does challenge our traditional assumptions of value within both the art world and society at large, making it an insightful, subtle piece, a prompt for much-needed discussion.