Phenomenon (Phenomene) c. 1923

Joseph Hecht made this etching, Phenomenon, probably in the first half of the 20th Century. The line is incredibly precise, almost scientific, but the subject matter is far from a cool record of observation. It’s a real gathering of strange figures and animals. The plate is covered in a mass of fine lines – there’s no blank space, and the accumulation of marks builds a scene, but not one from reality. It looks like some kind of allegorical gathering on the edge of a beach. It’s quite dreamlike, with a slightly surreal atmosphere. The figures don’t seem to be interacting, they’re just there, and it’s unclear what they are waiting for. I like the way that some areas are more defined, and others are more lightly suggested, as if they are fading away or yet to fully appear. I am reminded of other 20th Century printmakers like Stanley William Hayter. This print creates an alternative reality through the possibilities inherent in the printmaking process, embracing the ambiguity of a world that cannot be definitively known or represented.