-Golden Gate International Exposition- still bank c. 1940

This still bank, celebrating the Golden Gate International Exposition, is a real oddity. It's anonymous, made of glass, and was presumably intended to hold coins, though the few blue discs inside seem like a joke. What intrigues me is the texture of the glass, how it subtly distorts what's inside. It’s not pristine or particularly refined. If you look closely at the edges, you can see imperfections, little bubbles trapped in the material. It's like observing a memory through a slightly clouded lens, softened and not totally clear. That embossed seal, with the Expo's name and the year '1940', is so faint it almost disappears. Its ghostliness reminds me that objects can carry histories within them, even when their origins are uncertain. It all seems quite Dada, or perhaps like something Duchamp would have picked up. It’s a reminder that art and meaning can be found in the most unexpected of places.