Obscure Turning, Venice c. 1914

Editor: This is Clifford Addams’s “Obscure Turning, Venice,” an etching and engraving on paper from around 1914. It strikes me as haunting, like a ghostly memory. What do you see in this piece? Curator: The emotional weight lies in the darkness, wouldn’t you agree? Venice is almost always depicted bathed in light, promising beauty and pleasure. Addams gives us its shadowed corners, its secrets. Look how the architectural details are softened, almost dissolving. This blurring serves to remind us of Venice’s own precarious state – a city perpetually on the verge of disappearing beneath the waves, mirroring our memories that fade over time. Editor: I see what you mean. The figures in the doorways, are they significant? Curator: Absolutely. They are deliberately vague, aren’t they? Are they residents, ghosts, or perhaps figments of our imagination conjured by the city itself? They become cyphers for the many narratives, the cultural baggage, that Venice carries. Think of Venice as a stage set where everyone projects their dreams and fears. The ambiguity is key; they become mirrors for our own anxieties and desires. Addams isn’t just showing us a place, he’s evoking a feeling, a mood. Editor: It makes me think about how different artists interpret the same place, reflecting different states of mind, projecting cultural narratives. Curator: Precisely. He captures a psychological space. The image becomes less about Venice and more about how we see and remember it. What lingers isn’t the factual representation but the felt experience. Editor: This etching is definitely more complex than I initially thought. Thanks for pointing out how much the imagery affects our understanding. Curator: It's all about recognizing how visual language resonates across time, and understanding the stories those symbols carry within them.