Hitching Post 1935 - 1942

Curator: Looking at "Hitching Post", which Henry Tomaszewski created sometime between 1935 and 1942, what springs to mind for you? Editor: It feels stoic, imposing almost, despite being just the head. It gives me a very classical feeling. Curator: Indeed. There's a formality to it, especially with that ornamented base. I'm interested in how an image, intended to secure something, becomes instead an object of quiet contemplation. Editor: A shift in purpose reflected in a symbolic shift, wouldn't you say? The horse, traditionally a symbol of freedom and power, is now rendered stationary, domesticated...almost melancholic. Curator: Yes! The details are fascinating, if you observe closely, you see the almost architectural, baroque pedestal supporting the horse head. Metal seems the most probable substance here, although it appears like a graphite drawing or maybe a charcoal sculpture due to its black and white tone. The whole piece walks this line between functional object and pure symbol. I mean, hitching posts are fundamentally about control. Editor: Absolutely. The base feels significant, a visual anchor, trapping the image. We tend to think of horses as connected to nobility, too, especially in portraiture. Curator: And portraiture emphasizes the individual, whereas a hitching post is inherently utilitarian, anonymously functional. There's a tension. What feelings did it invoke in you initially? Editor: I had this flash of Roman equestrian statues, the idealized general on horseback, now reduced to a fragment, yet still hinting at power and tradition. It prompts us to wonder about the narratives embedded within seemingly simple objects. Curator: And it's not hard to imagine what type of rider would have had used that hitching post. "Hitching Post" transcends its original role to offer thoughts on containment, taming, or maybe, the beauty even in restraint. Editor: It’s amazing to realize how something initially so functional carries so many different layers of associations once framed by art.