Repairing a Barge 1914

James McBey etched "Repairing a Barge" with ink and a metal plate. It's a scene built from lots of little strokes, like a visual whisper. I imagine McBey, squinting in the sun, etching the metal, trying to get the light just right. I love how the barge sits heavy on the shore, solid and real against the fleeting marks that suggest water, city, and sky. Look at the man crouched under the hull, completely absorbed, while the other stands above him and uses the machine, creating an intimate space, and feeling the weight of the barge's presence. You can feel the grit of the sand and smell the salt in the air. It reminds me of Whistler, with his moody impressions, or even Rembrandt, with his sharp observation skills. Artists are always in conversation across time, responding to the world and each other. This print is like a memory, captured with a network of strokes. McBey is asking us to slow down and notice the everyday poetry of labor and place.