Nutcracker - Dog 1935 - 1942

Gerald Transpota created this study of a “Nutcracker - Dog” sometime before his death in 1995, in what we might consider the late-modern period of American history. Transpota's choice to depict a utilitarian object invites us to consider the cultural values we assign to both functionality and aesthetics. During Transpota’s lifetime, debates around what constitutes ‘high’ and ‘low’ art challenged traditional notions of artistic value, particularly as they intersected with class and consumer culture. Here, a dog, often a symbol of loyalty and domesticity, is rendered as a tool for cracking nuts. The dog’s mouth is a mechanical device, its body a lever. Reflecting on this piece, we might ask: Does the transformation of a familiar form into a functional object alter our perception of the animal? What does it mean to take something as vulnerable as an animal and render it into a machine, and in turn, what does it tell us about our relationship to animals?