Standing man still bank c. 1920

This anonymous "Standing man still bank" at the Minneapolis Institute of Art is painted wood. The kind of painting where the surface shifts over time, and wear and tear become part of the picture. Imagine the person who made this. What did they want it to look like? What was it like, finding the right yellow for the base, that chalky blue for the suit? They probably weren't thinking about posterity, more like, “How do I make this appealing, maybe even a little funny?" The paint isn't trying to hide anything; it's upfront about being paint. See how the strokes are visible, the colors slightly off? That’s part of the charm. It reminds you that someone was here, figuring things out as they went along, not aiming for perfection, but for something much more human. The spirit of painting is about this kind of process and exchange, each artist picks up where another leaves off, and keeps the conversation rolling.