-Goody Bank- still bank c. 1930

This anonymous Goody Bank, a still bank, invites us into a world of playful economics. The lithographic printmaking has a beautiful handmade feel to it with the imperfect registration of the print suggesting an early form of mass production and its own kind of abstract language. The texture of this piece isn't something you can touch, but the image has an inherent flatness, almost like a sticker or a cartoon, with thin, transparent layers of color to create a very pleasing but limited range. The palette is mostly blues and reds with a cream background, colors that pop and yet are quite contained. Notice the gentle gradations within the child's face achieved through the layering of the printing process, especially the highlights. This piece reminds me of the work of Red Grooms, someone who also loves to collapse the space between sculpture and painting, between the graphic and the handmade. It's like a conversation across time, reminding us that art is always talking to art. This humble tin bank embraces ambiguity, leaving room for multiple interpretations.