Night Out 1940

This print, Night Out, was made in 1940 by Douglas Warner Gorsline. Look at all those lines, so close, so even! I imagine the artist, crouched over the metal plate, pushing the tool bit by bit into the surface, watching the image slowly emerge. The work is figural, but it's the tonal pattern that is so impressive. The black ink captures a night on the town, or maybe just the feeling of being a face in the crowd. I think of Daumier, another artist who documented everyday life with such care and attention, or maybe even Kollwitz, who also understood how to use dark ink to create a sense of drama and emotion. It's like Gorsline is asking, 'How can I capture the energy of the modern city using only lines?' Every artist is in conversation with those who came before. And like Gorsline, we too can find our own voice, our own way of seeing the world.