Three Sharks in Search of a Victim 1967

Max Ernst made "Three Sharks in Search of a Victim" with ink on paper. The title sounds dark, but the work is light and playful. I imagine Ernst in his studio, just letting the ink flow, almost like automatic writing, or drawing—he was a master of automatism. What emerges are these looping lines, maybe sharks, maybe something else entirely. They're kind of funny looking sharks, aren't they? Their eyes are like dots and squares. The lines scratched on the off-white ground create a hazy, dream-like space. You can almost feel the ocean's currents. Ernst was part of the Surrealist gang. This was a period of experimenting with the unconscious and chance. What can come out when you let go of control? It's a question that artists have been asking each other for centuries, and will continue to ask. In the studio, it's never about the final product, it's always about the process.