Wooden Bell c. 1940

Curator: What a curious drawing. It immediately strikes me as rather solemn. Editor: This is Edward Jewett's "Wooden Bell," dating to around 1940, rendered with watercolor and drawing. What do you make of the subject? Curator: Its cylindrical form, though bell-like, is quite unconventional. The subdued palette and visible signs of decay—those fractured wooden planks held together by rope—convey a sense of decline. What could this communicate about labor, time, even societal structures that this piece hints at? Editor: Notice how the artist captures the texture of the wood. There's such fine detail. I'm immediately drawn to the way he’s rendered the curves of the bell with such precision. And consider that narrow opening along the bottom rim; such masterful illustration of its volume! Curator: But the detail feels deliberate, as if trying to preserve the memory of this worn object, almost like a form of memorialization. How can we tie this visual record into broader contexts of craft labor during a time of enormous social and economic upheaval? Were objects such as these falling into obsolescence? Editor: One might view that as the object’s fate or evolution but also the piece transcends its representation. How does the watercolor highlight form through its manipulation of light and shadow to bring forward the aesthetic of form? Curator: Certainly. Though to discuss it from the angle of craftmanship may be obscuring social narratives that give greater weight and nuance. The tension here is very palpable. Editor: Indeed. Looking at it again I'm newly compelled by this discussion that makes the artistic elements feel only enhanced when discussing what societal conditions may have made this so compelling for the artist in 1940.