In December 5, 1933, painted in 1933, by Edna Reindel, and the book Tender Buttons, written in 1914, by Gertrude Stein, both artists use various objects to represent different meanings. These works portray objects in a way that establishes a new understanding of what they are and strays away from their inherent meaning or our collective understanding of how they function. In the Reindel painting, she groups together a variety of symbols to create a relationship between them. However, the individual images at work would likely elicit different meanings if they were pictured separately or, perhaps, if the painting were given a different title. But, as a cohesive structure, they take on an entirely new significance. Similarly, in Stein’s Tender Buttons, she provides a set of descriptions of a series of objects that do not align with their assigned meanings. She creates ambiguity in her diction that forces us to grapple with each object and consider how each word can be many different things at once. We as the readers and viewers of these works are tasked with dissecting the significance of the individual objects used within the broader works and separating ourselves from our preconceived notions of what they represent.
In the painting December 5, 1933, Reindel places a scrap of newspaper, a blank scroll of paper, a bunch of grapes, a model of the Statue of Liberty, several human-like figures, an open lock, and a wine glass over what appears to be multiple surfaces: a green floor and a body of water. The painting’s title refers to the date when the Prohibition Act, which banned the production, sale, and transport of alcohol on a national scale, was lifted. She uses the items in the painting to highlight relationships between these objects and to convey new meanings. I would argue that the placement of the Statue of Liberty in the background points to the irony of such a ban in a country founded upon the basis of freedom of choice. This suggests that the decision to lift the ban falls more in line with what the Statue of Liberty represents than the social and political climate that the ban created. However, the Statue of Liberty, along with the human-like figures beside it that are mimicking the statue’s pose, have unidentifiable features and nondescript faces. I argue that this suggests that many American people are blindly following a symbol that is not always representative of the reality of the nation and the identity of the people living in it.
Stein creates a plethora of ambiguous meanings with her writing style. Looking at the section of Tender Buttons titled “A Long Dress,” Stein asks “What is the current that makes machinery.” Here we can interpret each word with a variety of different meanings, more specifically with the use of the word “current” which could refer to “current” as in the present moment or “current” as in directional movement in a body of water. Furthermore, the word “machinery” could be functioning here as the sewing machine that makes a long dress, the variety of machines that are used, and perhaps even the systems that tell women to wear these long dresses made by machines. There are countless moments throughout this work where Stein challenges us to consider the numerous meanings that can be applied to a single word and to reconsider our understanding of how fixed the idea of a definite meaning really is. In doing so, she is also challenging the linguistic systems that assign meanings and define “correct” word choice.
Returning to Reindel’s painting, she uses different styles of painting within the work that challenge the need for all of the elements of a painting to be visually cohesive. The grapes and wine glass are painted in a realist style that mimics an artistic tradition that could also be considered confining for the artist. The painting as a whole strays away from realism entirely, but the grapes are depicted as practically a photographic image of what we imagine red grapes to look like. However, when looking at the blurred faces of the human-like figures and the Statue of Liberty, we can clearly see the ways in which the painting is not realistic. I would argue that a similar thing is happening in Stein’s book with the organization of language. Some parts appear clearer than others, and while one sentence might have a somewhat coherent meaning, the next will often subvert the previous meaning or say something completely unrelated. I would argue that both works invite their audiences to make meaning in different ways. The painting creates its own meaning through the combination of objects and symbols in its content. However, when it comes to the painting’s style, there is even more room for interpretation not only based on what the painting is showing but also on how the objects in the painting are presented. In Stein’s text, the words are grouped together to invite the reader to make their own meaning of what each object represents and what connects them. Each of these works invites participation in different ways. The painting combines its elements to create a coherent message. The Stein text, however, accomplishes something different. I would argue that Stein is not suggesting that there is a clear connection between each of the objects in Tender Buttons. To an extent, we are invited to create our own meaning in each work. In the painting, we are given a template through which we can interpret both its individual and collective meanings, whereas in the text, we are given words with ambiguous meanings and are tasked with constructing their significance based on what we understand each word to mean.