Governor's Palace 1926

Here is a black and white print by Howard Cook of the Governor's Palace, and the first thing I see is the all-over hatched marks. I imagine him, Cook, setting out to describe a scene and the different weights of dark and light. I wonder what it was like for Cook, making all those tiny marks, each a little world of labor. The marks are like a collection of thoughts or feelings. I find myself getting lost in the details, like the way the lines curve to suggest form, or the way they create texture and pattern. Looking at all these horizontal lines, it reminds me that making art is like entering into a conversation. We are always building on what has come before, taking ideas and transforming them into something new. Artists are in dialogue across time. We use our hands, heads, and hearts. We are always learning from each other.