Protectionisme en Vrijhandel 1910 - 1930

Editor: Here we have "Protectionism and Free Trade," created sometime between 1910 and 1930, and made using pen and ink. There’s something darkly humorous about it, the stark black and white contrasts really add to the pointedness, and I think there is something going on with cultural trade at the time it was made. How do you interpret this work? Curator: Well, immediately, my eye is drawn to the figure sawing through the log. The log itself is labeled "Free Trade" and the saw "Protectionism." Notice how the figure bears a resemblance to the stereotypical depictions of the working class during this period. The message is that he saws it into smaller, more manageable parts, implying a fracturing. Does this image perhaps symbolize a wider cultural anxiety? Editor: Yes, he seems very focused, determined, yet trapped somehow. His eyeglasses and working clothes add to his seriousness, yet make me think that it's like watching history happen in my own community or somewhere down the street. There’s a local quality to the depiction of something happening at scale. Curator: Exactly! Consider also how the symbols are not neutral. “Free Trade” and “Protectionism” were not just economic policies but ideologies imbued with meaning. It provokes thought about the human cost when the symbols in trade change, impacting local areas deeply, while it could bring forth memories and feelings of the change that still remain prevalent in modern society. What feeling would you leave a visitor with if they came to witness this? Editor: I think I'd leave them questioning whose freedom and whose protection are really at stake in these policies. I noticed all those meanings of the title now. I see how that little drawing reveals so much. Curator: And sometimes the simplest symbols can carry the weight of complex histories and emotions. It's up to us to unpack them and invite viewers into the conversation.