Untitled 1970

This untitled print was made by Jirí John in 1970, and it's got this beautiful, almost geological feel. It's all about the texture, the way the light catches on those tiny, etched lines. Looking at it, you can really see the artist's hand at work. The upper section has these dense, blocky shapes, like chunks of rock, while the lower part dissolves into a field of tiny dots. There's this one dark blob along the edge, like a shadow or a void, which creates a cool contrast. It reminds me a little of some of the landscape work by Vija Celmins, that same attention to detail, that dedication to capturing the feeling of a place through mark-making. It's like John is trying to build up a world from scratch, one tiny line at a time.