Industrial Scene #1 1948

Morton Diamondstein made this screenprint, "Industrial Scene #1," with squeegeed layers of flat color, one after the other, in some year we don't know. You can almost feel his arm moving back and forth, pressing the paint through the mesh. I wonder what it was like for him, making this image? The smokestacks, buildings, and telephone poles are rendered in blues, greens, pinks, and grays. It’s a very particular palette, and it makes me think of early modernists like the German Expressionists. But Diamondstein isn't dealing with inner angst, more like outer angst, the world as it is. I'm drawn to the way he simplifies forms, reducing everything to its most essential shape. It’s a brave thing to do, to strip away the details and trust that the viewer will still get it. He takes a bold swipe at the sky with a mossy green, mixing it with pink and beige, and it becomes this ominous presence looming over the city. All painters are constantly conversing and exchanging ideas. Like a game of telephone over generations, each artist whispers their version of the world, inspiring others to see and feel in new ways.