Cityscape c. 1908

Curator: Abraham Walkowitz’s “Cityscape,” made around 1908 using ink on paper. It's a jumble of black lines that only hint at architectural structures. It’s really more of an emotional response to a city than a representational one. What strikes you about it? Editor: It definitely feels frenetic and overwhelming, almost like a city seen through the eyes of someone who's completely lost in it. How did Walkowitz create such a feeling using what appears to be minimal materials and technique? Curator: It is crucial to understand that Walkowitz, likely influenced by the rapid urbanization of the early 20th century, used the simplest and cheapest of tools – paper and ink – to rapidly document an ephemeral and raw experience. Notice how the density of lines varies. Do you think this implies anything about the process? Editor: It seems that he's used much thicker and more dense strokes at the bottom, making that area visually heavy compared to the top. Could that represent the foundations of the city, or even the lower classes supporting the entire urban structure? Curator: Exactly. Consider the socio-economic conditions that led to such dense urban development and, accordingly, to artistic responses like this one. Walkowitz may be subtly commenting on labor, class divisions, and the very infrastructure needed for the wealthy's skyscrapers. Where do we locate the hand of the artist in this work? What kind of labor are we admiring? Editor: I hadn’t thought about it that way! It seems he’s forcing us to confront the physical reality behind the abstraction and really challenges our perspective. I see more in this than I first thought, it really feels urgent, a consequence of industrial activity and materials. Curator: It demonstrates the artist making creative use of very modest materials and processes to respond to his immediate surrounding in a city, thereby giving us insight into its nature. We are also reminded that "high" art is dependent upon many kinds of “lower” work. Editor: I'll never see a simple cityscape the same way again! Thanks for sharing such an informed and engaging outlook!