Introduction page from a 1930 Kohler catalog
Between innings of last night’s final game of the World Series, I was telling my friend Richard Ernst about my upcoming trip to Wisconsin at the invitation of the Kohler Art Center (more info here). Before the game resumed, Richard had fetched a hard bound catalog of Kohler products from 1930 that he had salvaged years ago from a job site in New York. I absently flipped through its pages throughout the remaining game, amazed at the timelessness of many of the products featured, many of which are still in daily use after over 70 years. I was also impressed at the high language and ideals expressed in the catalog’s introductory pages (see above). Written at the height of the Depression, the text positions the Kohler Company as the exemplar of a WPA era work ethic.
From all indications, Kohler has not strayed from its 1930 statement of purpose, and continues to be a model for social responsibility and community development. Please stay tuned as I stage the first leg of our artist’s residency* next week in Sheboygan, from where I will be reporting.
* The residency will be a collaboration between Wowhaus (Ene and me), where we will work with community members over 5 weeks; the first week will be a solo trip for me next week; the second week will be a family trip in the spring; the final three weeks will be a family trip during the summer.