-Good Luck Horseshoe- still bank c. 1908 - 1932

Curator: Let's spend a moment looking at this "Good Luck Horseshoe" still bank. It's thought to have been created sometime between 1908 and 1932 by the Arcade Manufacturing Company. It's a metal sculpture, currently residing here at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. Editor: The weight of it just strikes me. Even in a photograph, it has a solidity and heft, you know? I imagine a kid clutching it tight, feeling the cool metal... hoping for some pocket-money luck! Curator: Indeed. Consider how the geometric simplicity of the horse form, smoothed almost to abstraction, is grounded by the textured horseshoe detail— a calculated juxtaposition to activate meaning. The uniform black patina is a striking artistic choice that serves to flatten the piece, to create tension. Editor: Oh, I see what you mean. It's like, the horse is ready to bolt, full of potential energy. It's dreaming of carrots and wide open spaces. I mean, a horseshoe for luck and coins in its belly—it’s just… packed full of hidden longings. Curator: Exactly. There's an interesting play with surface and depth, with how the light interacts with the molded metal to obscure definition while hinting at the contours. Semiotically, it embodies a synthesis of form, function and latent social desire. The symbolism inherent in the horse is further amplified by the horseshoe and its role as a child's savings bank. Editor: You know, I almost feel a little sad looking at it. Makes me wonder about the dreams of the kid who owned it. What kind of good luck did they wish for when they dropped a coin into that slot? What are dreams worth these days? Curator: Well, that sentimentality is, of course, precisely what makes the piece so compelling. That it can function on an abstract, formal level and yet trigger such emotive responses is, in a word, masterful. Editor: Absolutely. Looking at this piece, it’s a gentle, tangible reminder of hope and childhood—pretty heavy stuff for something so small!