Weather Vane c. 1938

Curator: Ah, yes, this pencil drawing. Bernard Westmacott's study of a "Weather Vane" from circa 1938. Quite detailed for what it is, wouldn’t you say? Editor: It makes me think of fairytales, strangely enough. Like a mechanical stag escaped from some alchemist’s workshop. There's something quite fragile and nostalgic about it at the same time. Curator: Interesting! Stags are heavily laden with symbolism. In some Northern European traditions, the stag symbolizes the forest, its spirit if you will—and masculine virility, a connection to the hunt. Consider its role in Celtic mythology; it was a guide to the otherworld. Do you see it reflected here? Editor: Possibly? Though its slightly geometric rigidity undercuts any raw natural power for me. It feels crafted, domesticated even, despite those glorious antlers! The patterned shading gives it a quirky folksiness that contrasts with those archetypes. Curator: You’ve touched upon a crucial aspect. Notice the way the artist highlights the vane mechanism integrated with the stag's body? This speaks to humanity’s attempt to predict, control—even tame—the chaotic forces of nature. The weather vane captures a specific impulse: imposing our understanding upon the world around us. Editor: Right! And by representing that impulse through a figure weighted with cultural meaning, the artist shows its ambivalence, the aspiration mixed with control. Curator: Precisely! This object, at its heart, reflects humanity's age-old quest for meaning. It’s not just a pointer toward wind direction. Editor: Agreed. Though if I were wandering through a spooky forest and saw *this* thing rotating above the trees, I'd probably run in the other direction! Thanks, Bernard. Curator: Indeed, thanks to Bernard Westmacott’s close observation, this apparently functional, decorative artwork offers a fascinating commentary on control, myth, and human intervention into the natural order.