Toleware Coffee Pot c. 1936

Curator: This is Max Soltmann’s “Toleware Coffee Pot,” created around 1936. Soltmann captured it with drawing materials. Editor: Immediately, I'm struck by the bold redness against that aged-looking background. There’s a folk art sensibility to the design on the pot, balanced against its very clean lines. Curator: Toleware itself has quite the history. Emerging from 18th-century Europe, it became incredibly popular for everyday objects in colonial America. That it becomes subject for artistic endeavor suggests the democratisation of art. What narratives are subtly embedded here about utility meeting artistry? Editor: That's a critical observation! Given that Soltmann was working in the mid-20th century, does his choosing such a utilitarian item point to anything about the period’s social concerns around consumerism and class? Also, consider how its form pushes against minimalist values while existing as representational rather than strictly functional. It seems that Soltmann makes space for many dialogues to happen. Curator: Precisely. It encourages us to think about the hierarchical divide often established between the applied arts and fine art. Soltmann's elevation of a commonplace object prompts re-evaluation of this rigid categorisation. How do you feel his use of colors influences that meaning-making? Editor: Well, the rusty shades immediately make me think of labor—the hands that might use this, but there is also a violence present too: of colonialism, maybe also dispossession. Does it hint at themes that resonate deeply within American visual culture even now? It makes us see everyday objects with criticality and openness to alternative viewpoints. Curator: Indeed, It makes visible histories sometimes overlooked in celebrating craft traditions. That potential for subversion through familiar forms seems the work’s enduring impact. Editor: Exactly!