Modern Economics 

Curator: This engaging oil painting, "Modern Economics" by William Balthazar Rose, offers an unusual scene, don't you think? What strikes you first? Editor: It's so curious! I'm immediately drawn to the somewhat dour atmosphere and the… precariously levitating cupcakes. There's a tension between the drab colors and this very playful central action. Curator: Playful indeed. But consider this painting's engagement with the conventions of genre painting. Here we have working-class individuals rendered through materiality – the very thick application of paint and somewhat careless construction suggests a rough honesty, not striving for an elite clientele. Editor: And what does that suggest about its relationship with the era's class dynamics, you think? It reminds me a little of early culinary labour conditions. The stoicism of the seated figure contrasts sharply with the exaggerated actions of the chefs, one dropping food and losing profit for someone above. The white of their garb feels less like "purity" and more about the expectation of cleanliness within an often difficult system. Curator: Precisely. This seemingly haphazard rendering is far from artless. Rose has consciously positioned his subjects against the backdrop of rapid industrialisation. Look at the cubic nature of everything – the cakes, the blocks, the toques; a critique of mass standardization, perhaps? Editor: Or a commentary on the expectations placed on specific roles. It's as if their identities, like those rectangular chef hats, are predetermined containers they must occupy. Is Rose pointing towards societal roles forced onto labourers? I wonder too about the role of taste. There are pastries here – objects both beautiful and consumable – does that mean he's talking about consumerism too? Curator: The cakes do function as indicators of economic forces – they are being carelessly spilled because something has to give during production to meet demands! I find it compelling that this everyday economic drama plays out so simply in texture and color, refusing a refined aesthetic gloss. Editor: Exactly. We are reminded that, however light and fluffy these objects appear to the seated customer, there’s chaos in their production and possibly in the systems upholding that production too. Curator: Thank you. That gives us some food for thought indeed. Editor: A darkly sweet experience, all around!