It's a ballot box. It says so. Not only that - it's Marton WI's ballot box. It's been taken to the AGM down at the Village Hall on the first Wednesday in November for many years. It has seen the rise and fall of many a committee. There's never been the need for a better, 'designer' one. Who am I to come along all smart and knowing? It's OK. It does the business.
Now if this were an artefact brought back from an Amazon-deep expedition we might be a little bit in awe - and instead of it spending 364 days stashed under a table it might be spending 365 days on a subtly lit shelf. We'd blether on about the workmanship of its primitive makers, their ingenuity in using such everyday materials to craft an object both functional and pleasing in its simplicity.
It's not anything of the sort of course. It's an ice cream box covered in wallpaper, a bit of late 20th century decoupage. However, I'll argue long and hard with anyone who cares - and stop sniggering now - that it's in the spirit of Folk Art.
4 comments:
Maybe we should start to compile a database of these gems before they disappear from everyday life. I can contribute a 5 litre Wall's catering model, disguised by faded red baize Fablon and an elaborate tasselled fringe. It was purchased at a Brownie Jumble sale at least 30 years ago. This is where I say...they don't make them like they used to...and then think...why on earth do I still have it?
Have you thought of entering it for the Turner Prize? Retro-twee could be the new black.
well I think it's great. I am sure we had wallpaper like that on one wall of our dining room when I was a child.
Given the fablon, not that late 20th century - c 1973 I suspect. I almost recognise it as a distant relic of my childhood.
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