Vest No. 1 1969

Betty Goodwin made this print, Vest No. 1, with charcoal, creating a ghostly garment suspended on the page. What strikes me is the way Goodwin embraces process, revealing the work's making through layers of smudged, dark marks. The texture is palpable, almost like you could reach out and feel the weave of the fabric. The darkness isn’t flat; it’s built up with strokes and smudges that create a sense of depth. The buttons are only lightly articulated, just floating there on the surface of the garment. The whole thing seems to hint at the body without actually showing it. This print reminds me of the work of Nancy Spero, especially in its use of the figure as a site of vulnerability. But where Spero’s figures are often in motion, Goodwin's vest is still, a silent witness to something unseen. Art, like memory, doesn’t offer fixed meanings, it opens up space for reflection.