Pan 1835 - 1865

Editor: Here we have a piece called "Pan," created sometime between 1835 and 1865 by the Redwood Glass Company. It's crafted from glass and has a sort of delicate, almost ethereal quality to it. The form looks quite simple, almost utilitarian, but the light passing through gives it an intriguing beauty. What story do you think this piece is telling, if any? Curator: I think "story" is the right word because even supposedly simple, decorative objects participate in wider cultural narratives. For instance, the transparency and color call to mind themes of clarity and perhaps fragility. But consider also the socio-economic context. Who would have commissioned such a piece? How does its existence reflect, or perhaps reinforce, class structures of the time? Was the company known for its work conditions or labor practices? Editor: That's interesting, I hadn’t really considered the labor aspect or how class might come into play just by who could afford to purchase something like this. Curator: Exactly. Also, does the piece reflect a specific aesthetic movement? Are there connections, perhaps, to the burgeoning industrial revolution? It seems simple, but is its simplicity a form of understated resistance, a quiet comment against Victorian excess, or is it just market responding to new middle class preferences? Asking these sorts of questions situates the object in a much larger and meaningful conversation about its historical moment and implications for our own moment. Editor: I see your point! By digging a little deeper, this decorative bowl invites us to look through the object to understand power dynamics between production, consumerism, and perhaps even aesthetic expression during its time. Curator: Absolutely. And what can art do other than help us question, reframe, and ideally, work to dismantle existing structures? Editor: Well, it gives me plenty to consider as I move forward and continue to visit the exhibit. Thank you.