Model of a Side-Wheeler 1935 - 1942

Editor: This is William Pollman's "Model of a Side-Wheeler," made between 1935 and 1942 with watercolor and colored pencil. I'm struck by the whimsical nature of the drawing – the details are quite intricate, but also a little fantastical. What symbols or hidden meanings do you see here? Curator: The side-wheeler itself is already freighted with cultural memory, isn't it? As an icon, it evokes a specific period in American history, tied to notions of exploration, industrial progress, and a certain romanticism of river life. It’s more than just a boat; it’s a symbol. Editor: A symbol of what, exactly? Curator: Perhaps a bygone era, a more tangible and less complex mode of transportation, or a naive period of mechanical innovation. This representation has this playful naiveté of rendering a three-dimensional object. Does the drawing's lack of proper perspective enhance or detract from that symbolism, do you think? Editor: I think it adds to the dream-like quality. Almost like a child's memory of a steamboat rather than a precise depiction. The green colors also give it an unexpected lightness, like something you’d see in a fantasy. Curator: Precisely! Color, of course, adds to the image’s emotional tenor. Green for vitality but also artificiality, considering a working riverboat’s usual aesthetic. So, the symbols layer; it’s not just the steamboat but *this* steamboat – Pollman’s specific rendering and memory of it. A memory refracted through color and distorted perspective. Editor: That’s a very interesting way of thinking about it, making it personal and universal at the same time. I will remember that. Curator: Wonderful! It also enriches my understanding, too. The layered meaning is a reminder of how much even seemingly simple images can communicate about history, emotion, and memory.