Vest No. 1 1969

Betty Goodwin made this intaglio print, Vest No. 1, using dark inks to depict an article of clothing. I imagine Goodwin printing this ghostly vest: she layers tones, trying to give volume to the cloth, wiping away at other areas to let light in. Look how she pulls the ink across the surface, so that the image almost shimmers. There’s something vulnerable and exposed about the vest. It's as if she is saying, "Here's what I want to say, but I can only half say it." The shadowy darkness surrounding the vest hints at something hidden, a weight, or some unknown potential lurking. This reminds me of the vests of Joseph Beuys: the uniform of the artist. Yet Goodwin's is softer, more feminine, and less sure. The history of painting is a conversation between artists across time. What is solid? What is transparent? What is real? What is not? So many questions come to mind, just like a good painting should.