Weather Vane - Horse c. 1939

This horse weathervane was made by Herman Bader, we don't know exactly when. I love that this piece is essentially a drawing in metal; the way the flat plane and the profile is rendered. I wonder what it was like for Bader to create this work? What did he think about? The form is so incredibly distilled, as if he looked at a horse and reduced it to its most essential characteristics, the streamlined neck, the arched back. He’s also not afraid of flatness. The way he simplifies the horse's mane into a jagged ridge. The line is so clear and decisive that you can really feel the weight of the material, too. I see a conversation with earlier folk artists who made weather vanes. They’re all in this ongoing exchange of ideas, inspiring each other. This horse embodies the possibilities of expression that emerge when you embrace simplicity.