Pa. German Toy Bird 1935 - 1942

Arsen Maralian made this drawing of a Pa. German Toy Bird, but we don't know exactly when. The artist lays down a network of fine lines to describe the object: a toy bird made from one piece of carved wood. What I love about this drawing is that the artist isn't trying to fool you into thinking it's a real bird. The subtle gray lines of the tail and neck contrast with the darker, more emphatic marks of the body, which are clearly too hard-edged to be feathers. The artist is celebrating the object-ness of this thing, its made-ness. The toy-ness. I'm reminded of Charles Sheeler, an artist who also turned his eye to American vernacular objects. Both artists show us how much there is to see in the things we think we know.