Brother and Sister (Geschwister) 1929

Erich Heckel made this print, Brother and Sister, with an economy of marks and a simple palette of black and white. To me it speaks volumes about the artmaking process itself, how little you sometimes need to do to say so much. The two figures huddle close, and it's that solid block of black that anchors them. Look at the way the ink isn't uniform, it’s mottled, and how the pressure of the printing makes the very edge of the block slightly darker. It is in areas like this, where the process is laid bare, that the image really comes to life. The white space that makes up their faces and hair is brought alive by the dark strokes, and their simple downcast expression tells a story of their relationship. There is a melancholy in this work that reminds me of Käthe Kollwitz, another master of the woodcut and the human form. Both artists embraced the limitations of the medium to create emotionally powerful images. In the end, it’s not about perfection, it’s about feeling.