Icethetics 1943

Hoyt Howard created "Icethetics" in 1942 using, it seems, gouache or maybe tempera on paper, with such graphic clarity. What I love about this is its commitment to process. Look at how the world has been built through flat, layered shapes of color. These colors aren't mixed to create a naturalistic image; instead, they assert their material presence. The theatrical lighting and the skater create a sense of depth, but the rough texture of the cave walls and the grain of the paper pull our eye back to the surface. The balance between surface and depth is really dynamic, isn't it? The figures in the walls above remind me of Piranesi’s etchings of prisons, and the lone skater looks like she’s about to fall off the edge of the earth. Together, the piece as a whole captures that sense of being pulled in different directions, like when you are trying to make a painting! Art is so interesting because it embraces different interpretations over fixed or definitive meanings.