Nutcracker c. 1940

Curator: Ah, this one always makes me smile. Chris Makrenos created this watercolor, appropriately titled "Nutcracker," sometime around 1940. Two studies of the object are placed one above the other. Editor: What strikes me is how unassuming it seems. It's a simple object, meticulously rendered, yet there's a strange potency. That ram's head—I'm drawn to its calm intensity. It feels like something ancient. Curator: Rams are indeed deeply symbolic. Think about Aries, the zodiac sign of springtime, of forceful beginnings, of virility... Makrenos has chosen a potent symbol to adorn something as mundane as a nutcracker. Editor: Precisely! It's that friction that interests me. On one level, it is simple and purely functional—but is there an intentional irony? A humble object crowned with an animal associated with power? What do you think it says about the person using it? Curator: It makes you wonder, doesn't it? The ram is also linked to stubbornness. Perhaps cracking nuts isn't just about extracting something sweet. It's about overcoming a challenge, a miniature, delicious conquest. Editor: That’s it, yes. And what about the material? Watercolor lends it a delicacy, a softness that belies the actual use of the tool. And that slightly off-kilter angle of the bottom rendering introduces a quirky imperfection. Curator: True. And perhaps this relates to a more general story that water colors may hold for art of the inter-war period, and even earlier than that. Before Pop Art really arrived in full bloom, humble renderings such as these stood for quiet dignity, modest domesticity, even during tough times. Editor: I see a sort of bittersweet, melancholic element in the chosen medium and realism... It elevates a common, everyday utensil, transforming it into an intimate study. Curator: It's amazing how a simple kitchen tool can hold so much depth! Editor: Absolutely! Makes you question all your tools—I feel ready to give them another look.