Bark and Brig at Sea (Barke und Brigg auf See) 1918

Lyonel Feininger made this woodcut print, Bark and Brig at Sea, with what looks like pretty basic tools. It's a scene built from sharp angles and thick lines, all in black and white, giving it a real graphic punch. The way Feininger carved these shapes, you can almost feel the resistance of the wood. It's not about hiding the process; it's about celebrating it. There's a cluster of lines at the bottom, like hurried scratches, that create this energy that vibrates throughout the whole piece. They remind me of the choppy waves, almost fighting against the solid shapes of the ships. This woodcut reminds me a little bit of some of the early Expressionists like Kirchner, who were also playing with this kind of angular, raw energy. It’s cool how artists riff off each other, pushing ideas in new directions. There's no one right way to see it, and that's the beauty of art, right?