Presentation car model c. 1933

This presentation car model, attributed to John Tjaarda, is a sculpture, an idea, an object of desire, all rolled into one. The teal color, and the sheen on the surface, they point to an ideal of effortless motion, a dream of speed and streamlined design. You can see the hand in it, though, evidence of the artist figuring it out as he goes. The model is smooth but not perfect. See the imperfections? The slightly uneven surface, the subtle variations in color, they reveal the traces of its making. Tjaarda has really manipulated the material to get the shape he wanted. The windows are like a cartoon, they are so small, they are just a gesture, a shorthand for the real thing. It reminds me a little of the work of the sculptor, Constantin Brancusi, who was also obsessed with pure form. Like Brancusi, Tjaarda has taken a complex idea and distilled it down to its essence, leaving us with a beautiful, enigmatic object that invites us to dream of the future.