Life, 1928-07-12 · page 19 of 40
Life — July 12, 1928 — page 19: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This satirical cartoon mocks the adoption of modernist architecture in rural agricultural settings. The left side shows an incongruous cylindrical silo-like structure with geometric windows dominating a traditional farmyard, while farmers and livestock go about their work below. The right side depicts farmyard chaos: horses pulling a cart laden with modernist architectural elements, ducks, chickens, and farm workers scattered about near grain fields. The satire targets the clash between avant-garde architectural trends and practical farm life. The "modern note" appears absurdly out of place and impractical in an agricultural context. The cartoon suggests that fashionable design movements, however celebrated in urban settings, are ridiculous when imposed on working farms where functionality matters more than aesthetic ideology.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
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