Bishop Hill: Small Scissors c. 1939

Archie Thompson made this gorgeous artwork, Small Scissors, with what looks like watercolour on paper. I can just imagine Archie carefully studying the object as he paints—the loops for your fingers, that little screw holding the blades together, and the sharp edges that come to a perfect point. It’s a great example of realism, I guess, but it goes beyond just representation. What was he thinking when he made it? He made it to look exactly like a pair of scissors. The color choices are muted and earthy, giving it a sense of age and timelessness. The artist’s careful attention to detail is quite moving; it makes you wonder about the value we assign to everyday objects. For me, there’s a connection to other artists who find beauty and meaning in the mundane like, say, Giorgio Morandi, who spent his life painting bottles. I feel like these artists are showing us how to see the world in a new way. I wonder what he would have painted next.