Bishop Hill: Auger c. 1938

Curator: Oh, wow, at first glance it's almost like a crucifix...industrialized. Is that too sacrilegious to say? Editor: Not at all. What you are seeing is Michael Chomyk's rendering, probably from around 1938, titled "Bishop Hill: Auger." He captured it using watercolor and drawing techniques. What feelings or connections does this work spark within you? Curator: Well, besides the cruciform shape hitting me upside the head, I'm getting this heavy dose of nostalgia—my grandpa was a carpenter. The way he's depicted every knick and slight discoloration…It really personalizes a tool. More than that, it memorializes honest work. Editor: Precisely! Tools carry immense symbolic weight. An auger isn't just a tool for boring holes in wood; it’s a symbol of creation, building, progress, even piercing through obstacles. Think of how many foundational acts hinge on such a seemingly simple instrument! The auger embodies both purpose and, perhaps, the potential for change. Curator: That "piercing" idea is potent...The cool thing is, Chomyk elevated it to something almost sacred with his artistic focus. It is reverent in its realism. Like the close-up still-lives of the Dutch masters. Except it's not fruit. It's an implement. Editor: The academic style certainly enhances that effect, doesn't it? In iconography, we often see everyday objects imbued with extraordinary meaning. Even mundane items, like this, when rendered meticulously, can point to deeper truths about labor, skill, and the very act of building civilization itself. Consider the care and exactitude of its representation…the watercolor giving this piece, intended for a pragmatic function, almost a mythic resonance. Curator: Absolutely, Chomyk captured so many levels here. Craftmanship rendering craftsmanship—it loops back and re-invests even a common instrument with uncommon importance. It asks me to think about how the simplest instruments can be so powerful! Editor: Ultimately, seeing an artifact rendered with such intention and detail grants it a renewed presence.