Shirt c. 1937

Curator: Looking at Virginia Berge's pencil drawing "Shirt," created around 1937, what jumps out at you? It's on aged, toned paper—a peek into the artist's process, perhaps? Editor: The quiet simplicity is striking. There's a subdued feeling, like observing a garment stripped of its context, almost archaeological. It really highlights how clothing embodies class, labor, gender. The absence of the body is heavy. Curator: It reminds me of wandering through my grandfather’s attic. That quality of the worn paper… almost tells a story itself. It is clearly part of a personal sketchbook, which infuses a casual feeling. Berge is just exploring ideas, documenting her everyday experiences or sketching inspiration. Editor: Yes, that sense of intimacy is undeniable, a sketch offers a direct line to the artist's thought process. Seeing work like this, I'm struck by the shirt's original cultural significance –perhaps part of a uniform or specific labor context. Thinking about how design, and textiles connect to wider power dynamics. Curator: Or simply, this was someone's shirt, the details capture the mundane, a simple button placement…there is beauty in the ordinary. Do you notice that additional thumbnail sketch in the top-right? The small detail emphasizes its 'idea generation' intent. Editor: That inclusion is intriguing. Does that intimate suggestion challenge our typical perceptions and valorizations? Where are the boundaries between “art” and “artifact?" Berge invites a dialogue about what we deem worthy of documentation and what gets erased from our cultural memory. Curator: And Berge captured it all. To be a quiet observer. I find it comforting. Editor: Indeed, an article of clothing sketched, rendered on toned paper, invites us to reconsider its place as art. It makes me ponder on histories it quietly conceals or makes evident.