Adam and Eve (Adam und Eva) 1920 - 1923

Otto Mueller made this print, Adam and Eve, using lithography, a process that revels in the handmade mark. It’s all about how the stone takes the greasy crayon, like a dance between artist and material. The stark black and white is so raw, so immediate. The figures emerge from the ground, from the shadows, with an almost brutal honesty. I see the way Mueller carves out these forms with such bold, almost violent strokes, especially around the limbs. The foliage flickers around the figures, like flames or like the chaos of new awareness. The way the figures stand, they seem to be caught in a moment of confrontation, with themselves or with each other, a pivotal moment in a narrative we can only imagine. This kind of pared-down, essential style reminds me of Paula Modersohn-Becker, stripping away the unnecessary to find some elemental truth. Art isn't about answers. It’s about the questions we ask.