-It Pays to Save Every Day (barrel)- still bank c. mid 20th century

Editor: Here we have a photograph by the Chicago Thrift Etching Corporation from around the mid-20th century, currently at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. It is a still life of a metallic coin bank shaped like a barrel, advising "It Pays to Save Every Day." What do you make of the formal elements in this composition? Curator: Formally, the photograph displays a captivating tension between its subject and its photographic representation. The cold, smooth metallic surface of the coin bank contrasts sharply with the message printed across it. Notice how the lighting enhances the metallic gleam, abstracting the object and foregrounding texture and reflected light. Editor: So, the surface and light are doing more than just representing the object itself. Curator: Precisely. The photograph calls our attention not only to the coin bank itself, but also to the properties of light and surface. Look at the color scheme: The contrast of blues and yellows draws attention to the graphic qualities. The structural solidity is rendered ethereal, due to photographic qualities. Editor: How interesting! So, it's not just about what the bank *is,* but about how the photo manipulates our perception through these design elements. Curator: Indeed. One could say that the photograph subverts the object’s inherent materiality to offer instead an exploration of semiotics and the philosophical play of images and words, real and perceived. What did you notice that you hadn’t before? Editor: I see how the interplay of color, light and word complicate what appears at first a straightforward advertisement. The emphasis is not only on the message itself, but on how that message is visually constructed. Thanks!