Buttons 1935 - 1942

Curator: Allow me to introduce "Buttons," a watercolor drawing by Mary Fitzgerald, likely created between 1935 and 1942. Editor: What strikes me immediately is the delicate precision of the brushwork. There's a wistful air to it, almost like holding onto tiny, precious mementos. Curator: Indeed. The composition, a seemingly casual arrangement of five buttons on the page, belies the intricate detail within each form. Notice the varying textures achieved through watercolor: the smooth iridescence of the central, pearl-like button versus the matte finish of the wood-grain one. Editor: It's fascinating to think about these buttons not just as aesthetic objects, but as products of industry and craft. What kind of labor was involved in producing these objects? Were they mass-produced or handcrafted? These details speak to a certain history of textile production and material culture. Curator: An interesting point, bringing labor and craft to the surface. Consider the formal elements again: the strategic placement on the stark, blank background directs the viewer’s eye through a deliberate choreography of form and color. It’s far from casual. The negative space activates a field for symbolic play. Editor: And think about who wore these buttons! The small portrait button especially brings forward questions about individual identity. It becomes less about pure aesthetics and more about clothing as a tool to make, shape and shift self-perception. What social circles did the wearer inhabit? Curator: Such insights are essential when evaluating “Buttons,” as it pushes us past superficial adornment, to engage these minute components as material signifiers, indicative of gender, status, taste… Editor: Absolutely, these buttons are potent relics when decoded via their process, and labor…I find myself now reconsidering the artist's intervention—her role less as decorator and more as material historian. Curator: A pertinent re-evaluation. Examining “Buttons” this way reveals that even commonplace objects can act as mirrors, reflecting complex negotiations of the self and society. Editor: Precisely. Thanks for pointing the way!