Lockout 1937

Kyra Markham’s stark print of workers, aptly titled *Lockout,* conjures a world of bleak uncertainty, rendered in stark monochrome. I'm immediately thinking about the kind of labor that went into this image. Markham's marks carve out scenes of industry and humanity, the lines creating a powerful mood. I'm wondering, was she thinking about the social realism of the time, or was she just trying to capture a feeling? You know, sometimes it's not about the message, but the gut punch. I feel for the artist as she decided where to add details, and where to leave it bare and cold, like that wall they’re staring at. That wall, that “notice” - so much anxiety, all the same. This image is part of a much longer conversation, a chain reaction of artists reacting to the world, to each other. The inky darkness, the weight of the subject – it’s a conversation starter, not a final statement. And that's the beauty of art, right?