Jar 1935 - 1942

Editor: So, here we have Clinton Myers' "Jar," made sometime between 1935 and 1942 using watercolor and drawing. It looks so ordinary, just a jar, but the rendering is beautiful. What can we make of it? Curator: Ordinary, yes, but perhaps powerfully so. Think about the era this piece emerges from. What was being valorized in art, and who had access to create and consume art? Does a common, functional object, rendered with such care, challenge traditional hierarchies? Editor: I guess so. I never thought of it that way. The artist elevated something humble. But is there a message here beyond aesthetics? Curator: Definitely! Consider this ceramic jar as a container—what histories, whose stories, are usually contained or, perhaps, excluded? Who gets to decide what's worthy of artistic representation, and whose labor is often unseen? This artist has created a representation by hand and using an intimate medium like watercolor which feels different from mass production of ceramic jars or other mediums often used to make paintings. Editor: Wow, that's a big leap from just seeing a jar. So, the painting almost becomes a symbol of untold stories? Curator: Precisely. Art often prompts a question, and maybe this piece pushes us to consider visibility and access—then and now. Who gets to participate, and how do we make room for diverse narratives? How has its utility to store something for someone transformed it? Editor: This has definitely shifted my perspective. It's not just about appreciating art for its beauty, but also thinking about the context it comes from and who is or isn’t represented. Curator: Exactly. Art has a profound ability to create opportunities to question established hierarchies of representation.