Male figure (one of a pair) still bank 1959

This painted male figure, a still bank, lives here at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. I love the way the unknown artist built up the figure, layer by layer, color by color. Just imagine them, carefully carving the wood, then mixing up those simple but bold colors—black, yellow, white—and applying them with a steady hand. I imagine that first mark of red paint that makes the lips! What a moment of inspiration! Looking at those simple, almost cartoonish, shapes and colors, I’m reminded of other self-taught artists who embrace directness and simplicity as a form of visual expression. It reminds me of how we, as artists, draw inspiration from the world around us, recycling, reimagining, and reinterpreting what we see. The artist’s process embodies a kind of conversation across time and place. I can see the echoes of folk art traditions in its construction. And I see echoes in the way he still stands here, a conversation starter.