Fodder Chopper c. 1947

Bernard Joseph Steffen made this colour print, Fodder Chopper, at an unknown date. What I notice first is the simplification of form and the bold use of colour to create a scene that feels both familiar and slightly abstracted. The texture isn't what you'd expect; it's flat, with each colour carefully laid next to the other, creating a mosaic effect. There's something really interesting in how Steffen uses line, especially around the farmer and the corn stalks. They're almost like ribbons wrapping around the figure, binding him to the land. Look at the farmer’s hair, that striking patch of yellow, it’s like a sun radiating from the center of the piece, bringing a sense of warmth to the scene, and drawing our eye to the farmer's labour. It reminds me a bit of some of Thomas Hart Benton’s regionalist paintings, though with a more graphic sensibility. Both artists share an interest in the everyday lives of rural Americans, and both, ultimately, invite us to look more closely at the world around us, to see the beauty and complexity in the seemingly mundane.