News Building 1936

José Pavón made this print of the News Building in 1936. It's all in blacks, whites, and grays; it's so graphic, so contrast-y! I wonder, what was it like to be Pavón, standing on the street looking up at the News Building? What was he thinking as he translated the building's towering height and sharp angles into this image? Did he feel small? Did he feel powerful? Did he love the city? I imagine Pavón carefully studying the light as it hit the building. Look at the street lamp. It's huge! And it's right there, in our faces. I suppose the artist wanted to convey the feeling of being there, in that city, at that moment. This work is a little like the photographs that artists like Berenice Abbott were taking at the time. These artists were trying to show the newness and scale of these city spaces. And with this print, José Pavón is part of that conversation.