Weather Vane c. 1938

Curator: This lovely little drawing, "Weather Vane," dates from around 1938 and comes to us courtesy of Nicholas Acampora. The media used include watercolor and colored pencil on paper. Editor: Oh, I love the subject. It's as if this bounding deer has a life beyond merely indicating the wind’s direction; there is a dynamic beauty to it. Curator: Acampora truly captured the spirit of kinetic sculpture. We're not simply observing a utilitarian object but, really, an embodiment of freedom and alertness in an object fixed in place. Consider what a weathervane represents for those who rely on knowing the wind: sailors, farmers, perhaps even hunters... it transcends decoration to signify something rather vital. Editor: Indeed, but consider how deeply gendered these associations often are. Masculinity is closely tied to wayfinding and environmental dominance. How much more fascinating if a female deer was featured? Or an entirely different animal? Even an androgynous mythological creature, anything to subvert expectations regarding gender roles and our relationship to the land. Curator: Well, that is a contemporary lens to apply to something produced over 80 years ago. And you know, looking closer, I wonder if Acampora even intended a perfectly faithful rendering. Notice the sketchy, almost impatient linework… Is it about the Platonic ideal of a weathervane? Or, really, about the idea *of* deer-ness, a fleeting impression caught on paper? Editor: Perhaps a fleeting impression that unintentionally upholds traditional power dynamics. What could we do to reclaim this image for ourselves, for the disenfranchised, for the generations who will feel the worst of climate change due to exploitation of our planet? What type of visual intervention could rewrite it into a symbol of sustainability and intersectionality? Curator: You really do take everything to the mat, don’t you? I was just pondering the inherent joy of rendering something that is simultaneously functional and whimsical, static yet expressive. But I see what you are doing, interrogating inherent assumptions is really your stock in trade, and a skill at that. Editor: Well, every symbol deserves questioning, especially now. Curator: Fair enough. And if this drawing makes someone think about who we are and what we’re doing to our world, maybe Acampora has blown the winds of change after all.