Cow Bell 1935 - 1942

Curator: Let's take a look at "Cow Bell," a watercolor and drawing on paper, likely created sometime between 1935 and 1942. Editor: Huh. Stark. Kind of sad, honestly. Like it's lost its cow and is just sitting there, all grey and muted. Makes you think about farm life, the sound of open spaces...then just…silence. Curator: I find that interesting. Bells in general have served diverse symbolic roles across many cultures and time periods—evoking concepts as varied as the sacred, festive gatherings, timekeeping, or, like you say, simply herding livestock. In that sense, it’s really a symbolic object that mediates relationships. Editor: Meditates on relationships! Right! The cow, the farmer, even the landscape itself, all bound by this sound, this metallic echo… It really does have this ancient feeling, as you're saying, linking to other times. I can imagine that bell through seasons, and even generations of people. The watercolor feels thin, ghostly, so even the sound is fading… Curator: Perhaps what also enhances that impression is the work’s commitment to plain realism. You won't find many embellishments, stylized elements, or subjective interpretations here. This focus gives us the pure object – raw and, dare I say, primal – the essential quality that ties us back through time. Editor: Primal—I like that! It also captures an echo of labour somehow. That weight...you can feel it in the image! Think about that dull thud against bone or leather, worn smooth. It's rough, useful, humble...even ugly in its way, like old work boots. Curator: Exactly! What we're encountering in "Cow Bell" isn’t just a quaint artifact from a rural setting, it reflects the persistent echo of essential relationships: person and land, past and present. Editor: The quiet dignity of things that *mean* something, without putting on airs. Yeah, I’m thinking about it differently now, feeling those layers. Thanks. Curator: And thank you—the emotional connections certainly make a difference to my experience, as well.