Landscape 1958

John Ery Coleman's 'Landscape' is an etching that conjures a dreamlike world of swirling forms. Just imagine the artist, Coleman, hunched over a metal plate, using needles to scratch into the surface, and then dunking the plate in acid. This is the real physical labor that goes into making an etching. The lines swarm like angry bees, creating a sense of depth and mystery. The way the ink catches in those etched lines is like the memory of a touch. I imagine the artist really getting into the nitty-gritty of it all, pushing and pulling at the boundaries of the image. Coleman probably looked at Rembrandt, who was a master etcher. He knew how to make a simple line do all the work. Artists are always talking to each other across time, picking up the thread of an idea and running with it, and leaving some for the next person.