Untitled from the portfolio With the Grain of the Wood (Au fil du bois) 1973

Curator: What a striking graphic! Pierre Alechinsky created this untitled linocut print in 1973, as part of a portfolio titled "With the Grain of the Wood." The high contrast of black and white is immediately captivating. Editor: Yes, there's a powerful, almost primal quality to it. It’s stark, almost theatrical. The creature at the center...is that a figure emerging from the depths? It feels quite dreamlike. Curator: Absolutely. Given that Alechinsky was closely associated with the Cobra group, we can consider the artmaking itself. He often embraced spontaneous techniques, drawing directly onto the linoleum block before carving, without preliminary sketches. Think of the physicality involved, the cutting away of material, and the force required for the press. It emphasizes the labor of printmaking. Editor: I am drawn to how that central figure, that ambiguous being, is adorned with what seems to be an elaborate headdress, but also those circular forms near its face; they seem very intentionally placed. They could be spectacles, granting a learned, almost scholarly air to this otherwise feral image. The layering of those symbolic elements makes me wonder what stories or myths Alechinsky may have been alluding to. Is this a shaman? A deity? Curator: Perhaps it represents something more abstract, a confrontation of the natural and unnatural, perhaps? The title hints at the importance of the wood, its texture. Looking closely you can see that even the sky appears to have a wood-like grain created in the negative space with intentional use of tools. Consider the impact of that deliberate, almost primitive cutting technique to emphasize material. Editor: You know, it really speaks to the endurance of symbols. These sorts of abstracted figures appear across millennia. Its ambiguity makes it a container for many interpretations. Its meaning shifts with the viewer, carrying collective anxieties and curiosities across time. Curator: So well observed. Thinking about the production again, it reminds us of how printmaking democratizes art. It allows for wider dissemination, reaching broader audiences. What were people encountering when they viewed art using these more cost-effective methods in the 1970's? What ideas were being pushed using this production? Editor: Food for thought, certainly. This linocut really prompts reflection on not only our shared visual history but also the circumstances of its own making. Curator: Indeed. A wonderful dance between medium and message.