Joseph and His Brothers IX 1966

Peter Lipman-Wulf made this print, "Joseph and His Brothers IX," using a single colour, a luscious pinkish-red, to define the figures and their space. I wonder about the artist, Lipman-Wulf, and the process of making this work. You know, printmaking is a patient medium. One must let the image emerge through layers of intention, accident, and the physics of ink on paper. The soft yet graphic quality gives the image a dreamlike effect. Do you see how the contours of the bodies are soft and round, yet defined by a clear, unwavering line? I imagine Lipman-Wulf, with his tools in hand, carefully carving and inking the plate, coaxing the image into being. The flat surface of the print creates an interesting tension with the implied depth and volume of the figures. It's kind of like how artists have been doing it forever, exchanging ideas and techniques across time. The image is fixed, yet always open to new interpretations, just like art itself.