Mammy 1924

Curator: "Mammy," a print created by George Overbury "Pop" Hart in 1924. Editor: The first word that comes to mind is "worn." You see a certain resignation in the slump of her shoulders and in the rough cross hatching surrounding her form. The whole piece feels imbued with tiredness. Curator: The print employs stark contrasts in light and shadow. Hart uses a fairly rough and sketchy style, contributing to that worn feeling. Note the prominent placement of the window with curtains as well, a recurring motif, if not icon, associated with themes of domesticity and internal reflection. Editor: You’re right. That window throws off the whole perspective – or maybe it adds to the claustrophobia. What’s that ghostly figure near the window? It looks like it could be either protective or malevolent. Curator: Many interpret that figure as the child under her care, seemingly hovering nearby, not quite within reach, perhaps echoing themes of vulnerability and reliance. It contributes to a dialogue between stillness and potential energy. Editor: This window almost appears to me to operate like a second character. I’m curious to think of its relation to absence, with what remains unspoken. Is she trapped or simply watching, like one watches clouds float in the sky? Curator: Hart, despite being an American artist, demonstrates a clear engagement here with what we might call Africanism, the appropriation of African or African-inspired aesthetics and cultural references, which raises interesting and sometimes uncomfortable questions. Editor: I feel like you either approach this image and feel like the mood evokes a melancholy snapshot of a woman tired of tending the home or if it is a symbol of an ethnic caricature... The ambivalence of a thing! But art needs these paradoxes, I guess. Curator: Art holds up a mirror to the world and to ourselves, even with all its shadows. This work reveals aspects of cultural memory and even unconscious assumptions we carry with us still. Editor: I guess, what sticks with me is the overwhelming feeling of human-ness; however flawed the image is, in terms of the representation itself.