Parking Space N.Y.C. c. 1930

Gottlob Briem made this print called ‘Parking Space N.Y.C.’ using etching; it's all these tiny marks, built up with acid on a metal plate, that create this vision of New York. I like how he’s sort of sympathetic to the city, even though it feels anonymous and cold. I feel like he’s trying to make it humane. I imagine him outside, huddled over his plate, looking up, trying to get the angles right. The whole print is about this contrast between the mass and weight of the buildings, and the tiny figures below. Look at those buildings, they have a real presence; the surfaces are rough and aged. I can imagine Briem trying to capture the energy of New York, its constant state of change, and the lives of the people living there. It's a bit like Piranesi does in his prints of Rome, these guys were kindred spirits, celebrating cities. These artists offer us a way of seeing, thinking, and experiencing the world, and it's a conversation across time!