Stone Crusher 1928 - 1929

Wanda Gág made this print, called Stone Crusher, using lithography. The swirling compositions of Gág’s prints are so full of movement that they give you the feeling they could come alive at any minute. The mark making has so much contrast, and creates an energy and dynamism that you feel, right down in your bones. Look closely at the way Gág uses the lithographic crayon, building up a velvety darkness. The texture in the foliage is so different from the smooth, almost metallic surfaces of the machine. A machine that seems to grow organically out of the earth it sits upon, like something from a strange fairytale. Notice the way the sky billows with small clouds, each one alive with a nervous energy. Gág’s work reminds me a little of Max Ernst, particularly his surrealist collages, where he combines natural and mechanical forms to create unexpected, and often unsettling, juxtapositions.