Infant's Bib 1935 - 1942

Curator: Looking at this image evokes such tenderness. It’s titled "Infant's Bib," a textile and watercolor piece created between 1935 and 1942 by Virginia Berge. Editor: Isn't it interesting? The immediate feeling is one of such gentle domesticity, almost ethereal, despite the everyday object it depicts. Curator: Absolutely. And that's exactly where its power lies. Consider the time period. This work emerges from a generation navigating immense social upheaval. An infant’s bib transcends its simple function, becoming emblematic of care, labor, and the continuation of life in times of precarity. It brings to mind conversations about gender roles and labor division, where women's work is so frequently undervalued and underseen. Editor: Yes, a beautiful capturing of domesticity. I think about my grandmother... all those unseen hours spent creating these kinds of pieces by hand. The repetition... that woven texture and the dainty blue ribbons give it a special air. Like a whisper of folk traditions. Curator: The artist uses watercolor so subtly that it blends and imitates the lightness and airiness of the original woven texture, all while hinting at larger issues about class, labor, and identity within rural American folk art during the Depression era. Berge prompts us to investigate assumptions we hold concerning women's art. Editor: And yet, there’s a lovely tranquility to it all, right? In thinking of domestic textiles, often it comes hand-in-hand with memories. Each little loop and tie, such gentle and enduring affection captured in such quiet labor. Curator: I agree that “tranquility” is such an appropriate way of considering this artwork. I keep coming back to that tension and those dualities: personal, and political; gentle, and robust. Editor: Looking at "Infant’s Bib," I can almost smell the soft scent of baby powder. It's more than just a picture; it's an atmosphere. It pulls on our emotional threads. Curator: Precisely. Through Virginia Berge's artwork, our experience becomes transformed as a consideration about broader artistic and societal conditions in turn.