Stern Carving: Spread Eagle 1935 - 1942

Curator: Welcome! Let’s turn our attention to the "Stern Carving: Spread Eagle," dating roughly from 1935 to 1942. We know Flora Merchant worked with both wood and drawing in the making of this piece. Editor: Oh, I'm immediately struck by its peculiar balance. The rigidity of the geometric patterns flanking the eagle gives a kind of formal elegance, but there's also an inherent wildness struggling to break free, don’t you think? Curator: Exactly. This interplay is quite telling, especially if we consider the context. The use of wood, a readily available and, in some ways, democratized material during the depression, alongside the somewhat folksy rendition of the national bird—it speaks to an accessibility of art production at the time. It also reminds us of the skill needed for carving itself. Editor: Absolutely! And there’s something subtly rebellious about this bird, almost turning away, not directly facing forward as it should. Maybe it’s my overly romantic imagination at work but it’s making me feel thoughtful... What I see in it reflects those complicated feelings that many were facing, both bound and free. Curator: Perhaps, or perhaps this unique design could reflect specific production constraints: wood availability, access to advanced carving tools, skills of the people in Merchant’s orbit. Who was available to lend hand? It asks us to think beyond just pure aesthetics or high minded principles! Editor: I still feel this work's heart beats through craft! It reminds us about all this making, bringing out something much greater than the sum of its pieces—more than technique. Curator: In seeing "Stern Carving," it does beg consideration for our relationships between making and seeing. I suppose neither happens independent of labor and resource! Editor: True, that labor gives art such vitality to affect those around and who gaze. This conversation, like the object it studies, is one that I know is one to be further pondered with others.