Colcha c. 1937

Curator: At first glance, there's something both playful and slightly unsettling about this. It looks like an exploded botanical diagram. Editor: Well, that's an interesting reading. I see the geometric elements fighting to emerge from a more organic depiction. This is "Colcha" made around 1937 by Margery Parish. It is made with colored pencils on paper. What visual metaphors resonate for you? Curator: The colors strike me immediately. They feel deliberately chosen, clashing at times. Red against blue, brown, and ochre… each floral shape seems almost coded with symbolic intent, like alchemical signs or stylized heraldry from a lost culture. I wonder if that palette tells a broader story about that period? Editor: Absolutely, it invites speculation about socio-cultural narratives and, if we delve into its historical context, the piece’s creation coincided with the rise of abstract art in opposition to academic standards, possibly influenced by international exhibitions and the general aesthetic reevaluation. What does the Colcha as an object imply? Curator: Yes, beyond the aesthetics, consider its materiality: colored pencils on paper, suggesting something planned, careful…almost a design study. Yet, its title, “Colcha”, brings to mind the idea of something comforting and handmade. The design gestures to traditions of embroidery that are translated with industrial materials from modernity. Editor: That resonates, doesn't it? The subversion of expectations is perhaps Parish's commentary on consumer culture versus tradition in American arts. Curator: It is possible to interpret that, seeing how our interpretations can sometimes impose our modern sensibilities onto past artistic intentions, it's still relevant to the viewing of “Colcha”. Editor: Agreed. Thank you for walking us through it with me! Curator: Thank you. Together we navigated a bit through art and history with Colcha.