Gimmick 1970

Juan Downey made this etching, called "Gimmick", sometime around 1971. At first glance, it’s almost invisible, right? Like a whisper on paper. Look closer; the word ‘Gimmick’ is subtly embossed, a raised relief in the paper itself. It's like Downey is playing with our perception, or even mocking our expectations. What I love about etchings is the process – the artist biting into a metal plate with acid, creating these tiny grooves that hold the ink. But here, Downey takes that process and makes it almost…anti-process. The lack of ink kind of undermines the purpose of an etching. See how the letters barely emerge from the surface? It's so quiet, so restrained. It makes you think about what art is, what it means to make something, and what it means to see it. It reminds me a little of some of John Cage's silent compositions, or the way Robert Ryman uses white paint. It challenges the idea of art as something loud and flashy, and suggests that maybe the most interesting things are the things we almost miss.