Jug - "Peace and Prosperity" c. 1936

Editor: Here we have a ceramic jug titled "Peace and Prosperity," created around 1936 by Helmut Hiatt. The graphic decoration gives it an almost classical, neoclassical, quality. What strikes you most when you look at it? Curator: Immediately, I am drawn to the tension between its functional form and its applied surface design. The jug's smooth, almost generic shape, serves as a canvas for the more complex, illustrative elements. Note how the linear bands accentuate its form but simultaneously flatten the space. Do you see the effect I mean? Editor: Yes, I do. The horizontal bands certainly frame the narrative scenes depicted in the central panel, and, perhaps paradoxically, make the overall form seem both modern and somehow ancient at the same time. What about the composition of the decoration itself? Curator: The composition cleverly uses symmetry. Note how the figures on either side of the jug mirror each other. While the central grouping, featuring the eagle and the text, functions as the focal point. Consider how the monochromatic print creates a pattern that’s bold and graphic against the underlying glossy white surface of the jug, the use of repeated linear and circular designs along the sides provides unity within the piece. Editor: It is almost like it has the same impact as Warhol's pop art pieces despite it not being pop art. The way it is balanced with its sleek shape! Curator: Precisely! The artist has taken a domestic object and elevated it through strategic, visual design. We can clearly interpret these visuals through lines and shapes alone to see its potential to offer something new to the world. Editor: Thanks, I hadn't thought of it in terms of balancing visual forms rather than representational subject matter, or lack thereof. I'll look at the artist's choices of color and placement with that new focus on their impact on shape.