Arthur Kill 1947

This is John A. Noble’s print of Arthur Kill, a strait between Staten Island and New Jersey. Look closely at the black lines that build up the image. I wonder if John was standing by the shore drawing directly onto the plate, getting the scene down as quickly as he could. The composition is bisected by the bow of a ship with an oil refinery in the distance. I can imagine John thinking about how to balance the contrast between the man-made forms of the industrial landscape and the more organic shapes of the ship's rigging. It reminds me of the work of the German artist couple, Bernd and Hilla Becher, who photographed industrial structures. But unlike their documentary approach, Noble’s print has an emotional dimension. It's as if he's saying, "Here's the world, full of beauty and industry and all the things we humans make." Noble’s work is part of an ongoing conversation between artists across time, who inspire each other's creativity. Painting, like printmaking, embraces ambiguity, allowing for multiple interpretations and meanings.