Space Mask 1952

Benton Spruance made this lithograph called Space Mask using grease crayons on a stone. The dominant grey palette makes the subjects emerge in a haze of marks, shifting in tone from dark to light. I wonder what it might have been like to create this image; moving from one figure to another in short, urgent strokes, layering them to create a scene that is both figurative and abstract. I sympathize with Spruance, imagining what he might have been thinking when he made it. I'm really drawn to the area where the mask covers the young boy's head. You can see the individual lines, how they build up to create the form of the mask, but also how they bleed into the background, blurring the line between the mask and the space surrounding it. This ambiguity is what gives the image its power, it makes us question what we are seeing. Painters are always looking at each other’s works and inspiring new modes of creativity. We all embrace ambiguity, allowing for multiple interpretations, never just one fixed reading.