Archives for December 2015

ADDRESS: 121 South Pine Street, Nokomis, Illinois, 62075
ARTIST: Bernard Rosenthal
TITLE: Coal Mining
MEDIUM: Wood (carving)
STATUS: The Nokomis post office is still an active, operating, facility, and the carving can be viewed by interested members of the public. The carving resides in the lobby on the wall above the postmaster’s door.
YEAR: 1938

Once again we have another unique pice of art in the Nokomis, Illinois post office. Most New Deal works that were commissioned for post offices were murals or paintings. When we run across something different like a stone cast or wood piece its exciting to see.

But here is my dilemma, how do I categorize this? What constitutes a wood sculpture from a wood carving or wood relief? If you have been following along I only have a handful of these that I’ve seen and it seems each one is referred to in a different way.

Do I have any art scholars out there? Does someone care to set me straight on this?

• Wood Carving?
• Wood Relief?
• Wood Sculpture?

Please comment and share below.

Thanks,

David W. Gates Jr.

Sources

• Personal visit on 5/2/2015 by David W. Gates Jr.
• (affiliate link) Illinois Post Office Mural Guidebook 
• United States Postal Service
• (affiliate link) Democratic Vistas: Post Offices and Public Art in the New Deal: [Hardcover]  Marlene Park, Gerald E. Markowitz