Icarus Possibly 1958 - 1998

Curator: Looming over us here we have “Icarus” by H. C. Cassill. We know it was made sometime between 1958 and 1998, but the medium – etching, print, graphite – gives it this fascinating ghostly, ephemeral quality. Editor: Oh, immediately, it feels… oppressive, doesn’t it? Like a half-remembered dream. The darkness on the right side really corners you, then the subject—Icarus, obviously—he's almost a blot against what's left of the light. Very claustrophobic. Curator: Absolutely! The use of monochrome really accentuates that somber mood. For me, Icarus is forever this poignant symbol of human ambition meeting its limitations. Cassill seems to be emphasizing the fall, that fateful, plummeting descent, right? Editor: Definitely. And there's something to be said about the choice of abstraction here. Instead of a classical, idealized Icarus, we get this almost shapeless figure. All harsh lines and blurred edges, which could reflect the inner turmoil, and certainly the physical disintegration, of Icarus in free fall. It transcends just depicting the story; it embodies the sensation. Curator: And the story of Icarus remains powerfully relevant, I think, as a timeless metaphor for overreaching, of the fine line between genius and hubris, wouldn't you say? The pursuit of something that, inherently, one cannot grasp? Editor: Precisely! This print invites us to contemplate that duality and our own fragile existence. The human longing for heights is ever present but it so often leads to freefall, as do many mythic narratives. And this image evokes not glory but the gritty failure in a wonderfully understated way. It feels less judgmental, more... tender, perhaps. Curator: That’s a wonderful interpretation! And for me, it's a helpful reminder that even in moments of apparent darkness and defeat, beauty can emerge from a print like this. Editor: Yes. “Icarus,” a poignant, almost melancholic testament to ambition's inherent risks. A symbol that, thanks to artists like H.C. Cassill, remains strikingly contemporary.