-Ben Franklin- still bank c. 1928

Editor: So, here we have a sculpture from around 1928, a “-Ben Franklin- still bank” from the Minneapolis Institute of Art. It's… brown, metallic, and definitely feels like something you'd find at your grandmother's house. What stands out to you about this little Ben? Curator: Little Ben! I love that. He does have that comforting, solid feel, doesn't he? You know, I look at him and I see this almost wistful commentary on American ideals. He’s Franklin, the embodiment of industry and thrift, literally becoming a repository for savings. Is there perhaps a hint of irony there? Turning a founding father into a piggy bank... What do you make of that, as a comment on American culture? Editor: Irony... that's interesting! I hadn't thought of it that way. It feels like something almost... folksy? Like, taking a historical figure and making him accessible, turning him into something useful. Curator: Exactly! Useful, accessible... and a bit simplified, wouldn’t you say? Look at the features; they’re there, but they’re softened, idealized. Perhaps it says something about how we choose to remember our heroes – polished, approachable, safe for the children to deposit their pennies. What kind of audience was supposed to purchase it? Were they young and aspiring, looking up to Benjamin Franklin's values? Editor: Huh, I never considered who was supposed to put money *in* the Ben Franklin bank. So this wasn't for adults necessarily. The folksiness, the sort of dumbing down, makes sense if it’s for kids saving their pennies. Curator: Right! Perhaps he served as more than a mere bank; a gentle encouragement, a three-dimensional history lesson! Editor: I think I look at old Ben differently now. It's more than just a kitschy piece; it's a time capsule of American values and, dare I say, anxieties. Curator: Absolutely. Sometimes the smallest, most unassuming objects speak volumes about the cultural tides that shaped them... or were deposited inside of them.