-Presto- still bank c. 1905 - 1934

Curator: Here we have "-Presto- still bank", likely created sometime between 1905 and 1934, and attributed to the A.C. Williams Company. Its an assemblage primarily constructed of metal and ceramic, though traces of pigment remain on the surface. Editor: The thing that strikes me most immediately is this feeling of stunted grandeur. It’s meant to evoke something monumental, stable, but it’s been shrunk down, made almost cartoonish. Curator: Exactly. Look closely at the brickwork and the architectural detailing. Each element is carefully rendered but simplified, a kind of Platonic ideal of a bank building. It reflects a shift in attitudes toward financial institutions, the bank transformed into something of a toy, a training tool for financial responsibility aimed at children. Editor: So, the architectural details—the faux windows and arched doorway—become signifiers of security, of trustworthiness. But by shrinking it down to this scale, it's simultaneously demystified, almost domesticated. The 'bank' becomes an everyday object, less imposing, part of the home. The repetition of circular forms draws the eye in different locations creating balance. Curator: The artist utilizes formal, established symbolic architecture of early 20th century institutions, manipulating its scale and visual qualities to produce new potential meaning. The symbolic weight shifts, the notion of what “banking” looks like made diminutive in the image of something reproducible. Editor: The original purpose was utilitarian; it invites us to begin collecting our financial wealth from an early age. Curator: And yet, now it invites something deeper, as the layers of its prior functionality take on new life in art. Editor: A perfect embodiment of aspiration rendered humble, an echo of economic stability now viewed through the lens of aesthetic intrigue.