ADOLF c. 1940

William Parker Abbe made this small woodcut, ADOLF, sometime between 1916 and 1983. There's an unrefined quality to the print, almost cartoonish. The high contrast, black on off-white, presents Hitler as a graphic symbol, more than a portrait. The artist wasn't interested in capturing a likeness, but instead communicating an idea. The ground he stands on is unstable, jagged. Look at the attempted symmetry of the arm band, the parallel lines on the shells, all cut by hand. It's like he is mocking industrialization through his own repetitive actions. I'm reminded of the German Expressionists, Otto Dix or George Grosz, with their woodcuts that were also politically charged and deeply critical of society. Abbe, like them, isn't just making an image, he’s making a statement about power, propaganda, and the dangers of blind faith. And he's doing it in a way that's both direct and, because it's art, open to interpretation.