Paramount 1928

Arnold Rönnebeck made this ink on paper, and immediately I'm thinking about how he was feeling, because you can just tell it's New York, right? It could be nowhere else. The way the strokes push and pull, the buildings leaning into each other as if they're exchanging secrets, creates an uncanny feeling, like something's about to burst. It's this incredible contrast—the rigidity of the architecture versus the sheer energy he brings to each mark. I bet Rönnebeck was caught up in the cacophony of a rapidly changing city. He must have wandered around, finding beauty in the overwhelming urban sprawl and the rhythms of modern life. There's a real love and respect in his lines. The kind of attention to detail that you can only achieve through intimate observation. It reminds me of the way artists like Lyonel Feininger or Ernst Kirchner tried to capture the essence of the metropolis, making it a place of both wonder and alienation.