Camp of Company F c. 1917

This print, Camp of Company F, was made by Bror Julius Olsson Nordfeldt, and it looks like he used etching to make it. I love the scratchy lines he's made, almost nervously, like the light itself is made of lines. The artist seems to have felt the need to capture every little detail of the scene. Look at the trunks of the trees twisting upwards, and the tents huddled together in a clearing. I can imagine him, hunkered down, squinting in the light, trying to capture the scene before it changes. You know, the act of drawing outdoors is a real commitment. It’s like saying, “I’m here, I’m paying attention.” I wonder what he was thinking about as he made this image, this little record of a moment in time? Artists are always in conversation, borrowing and responding to one another, adding their own voices to the mix.