Platter - "Hospital, Boston" c. 1936

This platter of Helmut Hiatt's "Hospital, Boston" sings to me of history. I imagine Hiatt carefully planning the layout, maybe even using stencils or transfers, to get those architectural details just right. Think about it: Hiatt is working on a curved surface, which means every stroke, every dab of paint, has to be carefully considered, there’s no room for error! You can see how the image wraps around the curve of the dish and this gives the picture an almost dreamlike quality. The scene itself, with the horse and carriage, the ship, the formal building, all evoke a specific time and place. I am wondering, what was Hiatt trying to say about this hospital? Was he celebrating progress, or perhaps commenting on the changing landscape? These images on platters are part of an ongoing conversation between artists and craftspeople across time. Hiatt draws on the history of ceramics, printmaking, and painting, to open up a space for reflecting on the past and invites us to find new meanings in familiar scenes.