Used Goods 1937

Pauline Vinson made this print, 'Used Goods', using what looks like graphite or maybe charcoal, with a real sense of mark-making as a process. There's this incredible texture, achieved through the density of lines and smudges, creating a sort of gritty feel. It's like she's building up the image, stroke by stroke. Take a look at the woman in the window, how the lines around her face and arms suggest a lived-in, real presence. The contrast between the solid blacks of the doorway and the lighter, sketchier rendering of the figures, especially the one with their back turned to us, it's all about surface and physicality. It reminds me of Beckmann's prints. This piece is really about seeing the beauty and the stories in the everyday, you know? The conversation around the piece is about the ebb and flow of image-making. It's a process!