Banjo Clock c. 1936

Editor: So, this is "Banjo Clock," a drawing using colored pencil and watercolor, created around 1936 by Nicholas Gorid. What strikes me is how meticulously detailed it is. What can you tell me about this piece? Curator: Indeed, a meticulous piece. The banjo clock form, with its eagle finial, resonates deeply with notions of American identity. How do you see the eagle functioning as a symbol here? Editor: It seems straightforward, right? The American bald eagle...freedom, patriotism, that kind of thing? Curator: Perhaps, but symbolism layers meaning over time. Consider the 1930s – the Great Depression. What could this patriotic imagery evoke during such hardship? Could the clock itself also carry a symbolic burden, beyond telling time? Editor: Well, maybe a reminder of earlier, prosperous times? Or a longing for stability, which time represents? The little maritime scene at the base—does that factor in? Curator: Precisely! Maritime imagery often spoke to trade, exploration, a nation looking outward. Its placement at the clock’s base? Grounding the temporal with tangible, worldly pursuits. And the banjo form itself...does it seem like an accident? Or perhaps its musicality has cultural links? Editor: I never thought about the musical aspect. Maybe a sense of leisure and culture they were hoping to return to? It makes me wonder what other meanings might be hidden here. Curator: Always look closer, find your connections between past and present. Each detail speaks, if we’re willing to listen to cultural memory!