Study for "Soho" (verso) 1919

This study for "Soho" by Oscar Bluemner is an ink on paper work. It shows a rapid process of artmaking, where lines intersect and overlap. There’s a raw energy here, a real sense of the artist working through ideas, almost like a jazz musician improvising. Looking closely, you can see the pressure of the pen on the paper. In the upper left corner, the lines thicken, suggesting a moment of deeper consideration. This contrasts with the lighter, sketchier strokes elsewhere. Bluemner isn’t trying to hide anything. He's letting us see his thinking, the way one mark leads to another, building up an image from pure gesture. It reminds me a bit of some of Marsden Hartley's drawings, especially in the way he uses simple lines to evoke a sense of place and mood. But where Hartley's work is often more grounded, Bluemner’s feels lighter, more dreamlike. It’s a study, a beginning, an open question.