Untitled [Dockside] 1929

Curator: This is J. Jerome Hill's watercolor work, "Untitled [Dockside]," from 1929, currently residing here at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. What catches your eye initially? Editor: It feels so…still. Like a watercolor photograph almost. There's a stillness that evokes a very specific time, not just in its date, but in its implied process. Curator: Process is key, of course. With watercolor, the materiality is very exposed. The transparency becomes a type of vulnerability. You can’t really hide. But in its urbanity it also seems to want to romanticize an industrial world that’s very much about getting things done! It hints at the gritty reality of dock work with a gentle, impressionistic touch. Editor: Absolutely. The docks as sites of labor are scrubbed and streamlined, perhaps even de-laborized, in their depiction. And, thinking of materials and process: I’m wondering about the artist’s intention by using watercolor versus, say, oil. The wispy quality gives it such a breezy lightness. It is very efficient. Curator: I wonder if it was to soften the blow of reality. Watercolor offers a fleeting, dreamlike interpretation. I get a very Edward Hopper sort of vibe from this. Editor: Interesting. What exactly do you mean by softening reality? Curator: The scene’s romanticized for visual consumption. The harbor isn’t shown at peak hours or the intensity of work, and that impressionistic feel creates a palatable dream. It creates this very delicate impression, and yet all this complex labor occurs here, where resources get processed and moved. Editor: I see what you mean. Watercolor is efficient with pigments. Perhaps Hill saw that quality as metaphor for efficiency. You made me think that he has successfully abstracted industry into its core material elements. The watercolor itself becomes symbolic of capital flowing at a particular, efficient pace. Curator: Well, thank you for that incredibly layered read of this very deceptively light, very lovely piece. Editor: The feeling is mutual. Thinking about the painting is truly a window for so many conversations!