Head of a Child 1916

M.C. Escher made this woodcut called “Head of a Child” and well, what can I say, it’s a head, of a child! I’m always drawn to the marks in a print like this. Look at the lower lip. It’s just two quick flicks of the wrist and a horizontal line. It’s simple, but so descriptive. The textures that emerge from the wood grain give it all a tactile feel. There’s nothing slick about it, and that’s what I like. I can almost feel the knife cutting into the woodblock. Escher is more famous for his impossible staircases, but here he gives us something simple and human. It reminds me of Alex Katz’s portraits, which are also deceptively simple. Both artists show us how much you can do with just a few well-placed marks. Art’s just a conversation, isn’t it? An ongoing experiment in seeing and feeling.