-Birdie Putt- mechanical bank 1967

This "Birdie Putt" mechanical bank was made by Utexigual Products Inc. What's so great about this work is how it reminds me that art is, in a way, like a really good joke, or a magic trick. It's all about the setup and the punchline, right? Here, the process feels front and center, like you can practically see the assembly line where this thing was put together. I'm drawn to the colors here. They seem almost hyper-real, yet the textures are so solid, so matte that it adds to the slightly folksy charm of the piece. There's a great tension between the almost cartoonish figures and the weighty, solid base that houses the mechanical works. It's a combination of whimsy and function, where the action of putting in your money becomes part of the art itself. It makes me think of Red Grooms, both of them playing with this tension between the real and the represented. This piece embraces imperfection and leaves us to do the same.