Wooden Rooster c. 1938

This Wooden Rooster was made by Sadie Berman, though we don't know exactly when. Look closely at the surface and you can really see the hand of the artist in the piece. The Rooster has an almost sculptural presence, it’s like the figure has been released from the material of the wood itself. Berman's color palette is restrained, mostly blacks, whites, and reds, but it’s the textures that are really doing the work here. See those little dots on the breast? It’s such an idiosyncratic approach. That handmade quality is a way of seeing and thinking about artmaking as a process. This piece reminds me a bit of Bill Traylor, another artist who managed to conjure powerful images from simple means. The rooster exists not as a definitive statement, but as an open-ended exploration, inviting us to bring our own experiences and interpretations to the work.