Diogenes 1903

Oluf Hartmann made this print, Diogenes, with etching. Look how the ink is like, massed in some areas, or scraped away in others to create a kind of chiaroscuro. It’s all about the push and pull, the give and take of the artmaking process. The surface has a definite bite to it, a tangible ruggedness. You can almost feel the pressure of the artist's hand as he worked the plate. The dark areas give way to these pale figures, they seem lit from within, emerging like ghosts. Diogenes himself is a shadow, but the lamp he holds throws light on the faces around him. It reminds me a bit of Käthe Kollwitz, in the way it uses the stark contrast to get at the emotional core of a scene. But Hartmann has his own thing going on. It's not about answers; it's about the questions, the search, the endless conversation that art has with itself.