The Burning Bush 1961

James Lesesne Wells made this print, "The Burning Bush", using black ink on paper. Just look at those lines. I'm imagining the artist, really feeling the pressure of the blade against the wood, the give and take as the image emerges. What was it like to carve this image? What was he thinking about? The bold contrasts create a dramatic scene; the black ink and the white of the paper play off each other, creating a sense of light and shadow. There is real movement, like the image is flickering right before our eyes. Wells clearly knew how to make the most of his medium, pushing it to its expressive limits. Wells is playing with printmaking techniques, but he’s also speaking to a broader visual language. Artists are always in conversation, aren't they? Making, unmaking, and remaking. We can only keep trying to find new ways of seeing the world.