Horse Tail Dance 1946

Ira Moskowitz made this print, Horse Tail Dance, which is all about mark-making. It's not dated, but you can see how the tone comes from these tiny little etched marks. It looks like the marks are searching for form. Looking at the surface, there is a roughness to it, and that comes through in the overall emotional feeling as well. You can see a frenzy of tiny marks dancing around the fire. It's not so much about the specifics of the figures, but the feeling. The energy in the foreground contrasts with the flat-looking crowd in the background. I'm reminded of Kathe Kollwitz, who also used printmaking to capture raw human emotion. Art doesn't tell you what to think, it shows you how to feel.