Cider Press c. 1940

Editor: This watercolor and drawing by Harry Mann Waddell, called "Cider Press" and created around 1940, it is quite charming! The subdued tones and precision give it an almost diagrammatic feel. How would you interpret the piece? Curator: What I see is a record of human ingenuity, a symbol of labor and transformation. Consider how such a tool represents not just the pressing of apples, but the pressing of culture, the cyclical nature of the harvest, and the human relationship to the land. The cider press becomes a cultural artifact. Editor: That's fascinating! I hadn't thought of it as having so much depth. The visual of the screw intrigues me... Curator: Yes! Note the deliberate and strong line Waddell uses to define it. The screw itself is an ancient symbol found across cultures representing order, movement and directed power. In this piece it drives the transformation from raw fruit to drink. Is that all it implies, or perhaps is Waddell using it in other symbolic ways? Editor: It brings a potent, grounded, practical quality to the piece. It's humble yet undeniably present! Curator: Exactly! And how does this simple object speak to broader themes of sustainability, tradition, and the local? Could this piece be a comment on those ideas during a time of immense change? Editor: I hadn't considered the sustainability aspect. The cyclical process of cider making... it's much more than just a still life, or documentation. Curator: Precisely! This artwork makes me appreciate the intersection of the object, memory, and the cyclical passage of time that informs how we attach meaning to objects. Editor: I'll certainly look at everyday objects differently after this!