Flying Duck c. 1939

Editor: Here we have Malcolm Hackney's "Flying Duck," created around 1939. It looks like it is made of wood and drawing. I find it intriguing that it appears to depict a mass produced duck decoy but is a drawing. What strikes you about it? Curator: It’s fascinating to consider the context of this object's creation, especially during the late 1930s. Focus on its raw materiality: wood, likely sourced locally. The drawing itself, presumably created on paper, acts almost as a design blueprint. Editor: A blueprint for duck decoys? Curator: Precisely. It invites us to question what exactly Hackney produced, an instruction or a work of art. I see Hackney highlighting the transition from hand-carved individual objects to increasingly mass-produced, commercialized items. Think about the labour involved, too: the wood carver, the artist rendering the image. Were they one and the same? What economic conditions might have prompted the documentation of what was in many ways a folk craft? Editor: I never thought of it that way, but seeing it as a record of production during that time shifts my perspective entirely. Instead of simply a decorative duck, it hints at societal and industrial shifts in production of such a quotidian object. Curator: Indeed, by presenting a seemingly simple image of "Flying Duck," Hackney challenges our understanding of what is art and invites us to scrutinize its materiality and manufacture and social conditions. The combination of wood as sculptural potential and drawing as design illuminates labor practices and commodification of everyday life. Editor: It is eye-opening how focusing on the materials and means of production can reveal the hidden cultural meaning behind seemingly simple artworks. Thanks for clarifying this for me.