Shaker Blanket Chest 1935 - 1942

Curator: This is a photograph entitled "Shaker Blanket Chest," attributed to John Davis, and dating between 1935 and 1942. Editor: It's remarkably…still. The soft focus and muted palette make it seem like it’s exhaling, almost like a portrait of an old friend quietly existing in a forgotten corner. There is light that seems somehow trapped and preserved in that surface. Curator: It’s more than just a record of a chest. It is the representation of the Shaker aesthetic in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century when it becomes a prominent design in America, tied to an appreciation for handcrafted goods and a simpler way of life during a time of increasing industrialization and social change. Editor: Simpler maybe, but not artless! Those knobs, those ever-so-slightly curved feet…they speak to a dedication of craftsmanship. I’d bet there's as much soul in that piece as there is practicality. Though photographed, it almost feels like a ghostly rendering. Curator: Precisely. The Shakers are synonymous with the notions of utility, purity, and a kind of spiritual elegance expressed through design. Davis's image here is more about evoking a certain reverence and celebrating design that many saw as holding an ideal lifestyle. This was a conscious cultural move in opposition to industrial design principles. Editor: It really does whisper something profound. I guess I can't help but seeing stories embedded in inanimate things, their lines and angles being maps of experiences and memories. It has this weird effect where it grounds you and somehow sets you adrift simultaneously. Curator: I see what you mean, it's this quiet insistence that beauty and utility can be integrated that carries resonance for sure, not just in the period this was captured, but evermore so today. Editor: Yes, a lasting statement about grace through functionality and the beautiful ghosts that get trapped in even the simplest things. Curator: Indeed. Thank you for pointing out those important visual attributes!