Santa Maria 1928

David Young Cameron made this print called Santa Maria and when I look at this dark image, I think about standing in the shadows. Cameron etches away at the darkness. The lines are like whispers, building up to describe a space where light struggles to penetrate. The column on the left feels solid, yet it almost dissolves into the surrounding gloom. I can imagine Cameron, hunched over his plate, carefully layering those lines, trying to capture the weight of history, the coolness of the stone. What was he thinking when he made it? How has it come into being, shifting and emerging through trial, error, and intuition? He probably worked from direct observation, or maybe he worked from memory? It reminds me that artists are constantly in conversation, borrowing and building upon each other’s ideas, like echoes in a grand, empty hall. Embracing ambiguity allows for multiple interpretations and meaning.