Kid c. 1931

Editor: Here we have *Kid*, a delicate porcelain sculpture of a fawn manufactured by Karlsruhe Majolica Factory. I'm immediately struck by the fragility suggested by the crackled glaze. What sociopolitical ideas can be gleaned from this decorative piece? Curator: I see the fawn as a stand-in for innocence, easily exploited. Consider the factory's historical context; its mass-produced goods catered to a burgeoning middle class, complicit in colonial exploitation for resources. Does this seemingly harmless object participate in a larger system of oppression? Editor: That's a sobering perspective. I hadn't considered the relationship between decorative arts and larger political systems. Curator: Examining the layers of production and consumption can reveal uncomfortable truths about our relationship with even the most innocuous-seeming objects.