Intercepted 1941

Isac Friedlander made this print, Intercepted, in 1941, and what strikes me is the raw, graphic quality of the woodcut, the way he’s wrestled with the block to get these stark contrasts. It's like the image is fighting its way out of the darkness. The texture feels almost… visceral. You can practically feel the artist digging into the wood, each gouge and scrape carving out these figures, these desperate faces. Look at the way the light catches on the faces, how the dark lines seem to trap the figures in a moment of intense emotion. The physical act of cutting seems so connected to the emotional weight of the subject matter. The print reminds me of the German Expressionists, like Kathe Kollwitz, who also used printmaking to express themes of social justice. There’s a sense of urgency here, a cry for help etched in black and white, and in the end, maybe that's what art is, a way of speaking when words fail.