-Mason Bank- mechanical bank c. 1887

Editor: This mixed-media piece is called "-Mason Bank- mechanical bank" and dates to around 1887. It's currently located here at the Minneapolis Institute of Art and made by Charles G. Shepard. It strikes me as a rather nostalgic rendering of labor, though perhaps somewhat romanticized? What do you see in this sculpture? Curator: Well, the iconography itself speaks volumes. Notice how the mason, the master, oversees the laborer. The brick wall is a potent symbol. Bricks represent civilization, construction, progress but also restriction and division. Consider also the bank element. Editor: That's a fantastic observation about the bricks representing division. And how does that play into it being a mechanical bank? Curator: It becomes a symbolic representation of the economic and social structures of the time, doesn't it? The "bank" becomes a site for societal expectations and aspirations made mechanical; it performs the culture of capital in miniature. Are those social divides literally being banked on? How do we find symbolic power in our memories of labor in art? Editor: Wow, that adds a whole other layer to it. I was initially focused on the sort of quaintness of it, but you’re right, there's a definite commentary there too. Curator: Right, so perhaps "quaintness" as an element of emotional layering? Perhaps those types of objects once promoted very gendered ideas on who saves. What can folk art tell us about ourselves? Editor: I never considered folk art this way. I’m much more familiar with thinking about historical painting. Curator: Different perspectives, different windows on cultural values. It shows how we still use and interpret visual symbols across time to continue reflecting on our shared history and psyche, and ourselves. What have we discovered through that shared exploration? Editor: Definitely to look beyond face value, that objects can function beyond what meets the eye to embody symbolic power. Thanks for sharing your insight, Curator!