Sediment 1939

Louise Arnstein Freedman made this print, called Sediment, using etching techniques. It feels like a world slowly being built up, one tiny little line at a time, to make this dark industrial scene. There’s such a rich, almost velvety quality to the blacks she’s achieved here, using all these teensy marks, like she’s caressing the surface of the metal plate with the etching tool. Look at the way she defines the smoke billowing from the factory with these tight, nervous lines, creating this really palpable sense of atmosphere and grit. The lines have a cumulative effect. I’m reminded of the stark, socially conscious prints of someone like Käthe Kollwitz, but Freedman brings a different kind of sensitivity. Both artists invite us to reflect on how we make meaning through art. They acknowledge that there is more than one way to interpret a subject.