Trademark 1935

Curator: Right away, I am struck by the use of pure geometry, even in representing organic human forms; the high-contrast color usage definitely underscores that impact. Editor: Precisely. What we're observing here is M.C. Escher's woodcut entitled "Trademark", crafted in 1935. Notice how the artist interlocks geometric shapes, creating an I-beam almost oppressive in its industrial starkness. Curator: "Oppressive" is the word. I see a figure huddled within the beams, apparently welding something; this is hard work being done in a tight space, a far cry from artistic labor in the same period. What is Escher trying to say? Editor: Well, his work often played with the paradoxes of representation and reality. Consider how this print, itself the product of painstaking manual labor through relief printmaking techniques, depicts the alienated labor involved in industrial production. We're faced with this rigid, geometrically perfect I-beam, created by imperfect human work! Curator: Yes! The figure is almost entombed within this manufactured object, a commentary, perhaps, on humanity's subservience to the very tools it creates. Editor: Or maybe it's a self-portrait? Remember, during this time, the commodification of art was intensifying, potentially transforming artists into just another type of cog in the machinery of capitalism. Curator: An intriguing consideration! The interplay of figure and structure makes this a compelling examination of production and labor itself, and how this reflects upon artmaking. Editor: Indeed, this piece opens up broader questions of societal structures and economic systems. A small image with a mighty message about art, labor, and what gives life meaning. Curator: Food for thought, especially in our current era, where the nature of work is being further redefined through material advances like AI. Editor: Precisely. Escher provides us with a powerful meditation, presented within the sharply delineated lines of a black-and-white woodcut.