-Golden Gate International Exposition- still bank c. 1940

This glass still bank, commemorating the Golden Gate International Exposition, sits squarely, like a little minimalist sculpture. You could almost think of it as a proto-Dan Graham, all transparency and geometric form. I wonder who made it, and why? And who decided to put those blue tokens inside? It’s odd, the way this functional object has become an accidental artwork. I imagine someone carefully stacking coins in the bank, one by one, dreaming of the future and a trip to San Francisco. Or did they already go? Maybe they were just holding onto the memory of a beautiful fair, and the promise of progress. It reminds me of the readymades of Marcel Duchamp, everyday objects transformed into art simply by being framed and presented. Did the maker of this coin bank ever think it would end up in a museum? It’s a strange and wonderful thing, how history and intention can shift and change over time.