Lamentation [recto] 1950

Benton Spruance made this lithograph, Lamentation, with ink on paper. It’s a scene of sorrow, rendered in blacks and grays, and it feels like a process of building up darkness to find the light. Look closely, and you'll see the density of the marks. The grainy texture feels almost like a photograph, but each line is deliberately placed, carrying a weight of emotion. Notice the central figure, her gaze downcast, her hands clasped. It's in the way the shadows define her form, not quite solid, more like grief taking shape. Spruance reminds me a little of Kathe Kollwitz, another artist who knew how to make black and white sing with the pain and beauty of being human. Just like life, this print asks us to sit with ambiguity, to feel the sorrow, and maybe, find a glimmer of hope within it.