Totem 1949

James Harvey made this linocut print, Totem, sometime around 1949. The incised lines, which were probably cut into a sheet of linoleum, feel direct and assured. I really like this one! It has this kind of stripped-down, stylized face that reminds me of a cubist painting. I can imagine Harvey carving away at the block, each cut revealing the image. He must have worked methodically, balancing the darks and lights to create this kind of monumental image. Looking at this, I’m thinking about other artists from that time, folks like Picasso, who were also into this idea of reducing form to its essence. Artists are always looking at each other's work, responding, reacting, keeping the conversation going. In the end, Totem really captures that moment, that impulse to simplify and express something fundamental about the human spirit. It’s like Harvey was trying to distill all of human experience into this one, powerful image.