Untitled (Cake on chair in front of house) c. 1920s

This small black and white photograph presents a house with a cake placed on a chair in front of it, by an anonymous artist. The photograph is a humble composition, capturing a makeshift scene with a certain starkness. I imagine the artist, perhaps a local, seeing the house and the cake as a simple tableau, compelling them to document it. The light is even, casting soft shadows that flatten the image. The textures of the wooden siding of the house contrast with the smooth icing on the cake. The cake, precariously balanced, looks almost ceremonial against the rustic backdrop. It feels like a celebration, but of what? A reminder that art can be found anywhere, in any form. It’s an interesting conversation with other domestic images by artists like Judith Eisler. The photograph stands as a testament to the everyday, transformed through the act of seeing and recording.