Flower pot and ceramic jug 1912

Editor: So this is Koloman Moser's "Flower Pot and Ceramic Jug," painted in 1912 with oil. It has a slightly naive, domestic feel to it, despite the obvious geometric construction. What do you see in this piece, beyond the basic arrangement? Curator: I see a painting steeped in the anxieties and aspirations of early 20th century Vienna. Consider the Vienna Secession, of which Moser was a founding member. Their agenda was to break from the traditional art establishment, pushing back against the academic historicism dominating the Ringstrasse era. Look at how Moser elevates everyday objects – a flowerpot, a simple jug – to the level of fine art. Doesn't it remind you of the socialist motto: art for the people? Editor: I see your point about the Vienna Secession's ambitions. I do not necessarily think that the final result is something accessible. In fact, what social classes had the money to afford this bourgeois art at the time? Curator: Precisely! That tension between democratic ideals and bourgeois consumption is what I find so compelling. These artists were trying to democratize art by embracing crafts and design, but their primary audience remained the wealthy elite. Notice also the fractured composition and the flattening of space; elements influenced by Expressionism and emerging anxieties about the rapidly changing modern world. Can we not trace some early trauma and the root for the current expressionist moment? Editor: That makes a lot of sense when considering the socio-political context of Vienna at the time, and it brings another layer of complexity to it. Curator: Right. The jug with its geometric squares could almost represent the increasing standardization and rationalization of life, contrasted with the organic form of the flower pot suggesting resilience of nature. It’s a visual dialogue between these forces. I agree with you when you describe a bourgeois consumption. Editor: Thank you for offering a whole different reading.