Experimental Plate #2 1954 - 1955

Bernard Childs made this experimental plate with etching, probably sometime in the mid-twentieth century. The image is all stark contrasts and textures; look at those scratchy lines and blotches of ink! I’m trying to imagine Childs in the studio, the metal plate in front of him. What was he thinking as he made these marks? Maybe he was after that feeling of raw immediacy, a kind of automatic drawing. The ink must have resisted his intentions in unexpected ways, creating a dance between control and accident. It’s almost like the shapes are bursting out of the surface, fighting to be seen! This experimental plate reminds me of other artists working in that era, like Joan Miró or even some of the Abstract Expressionists, all trying to find new ways to unleash their subconscious onto the canvas. There's something about the immediacy and honesty of this work that speaks to a larger conversation about what it means to be human.