Card with Bird 1962

This is Helen Siegl's 'Card with Bird', made in 1962, likely using a woodcut or linocut technique. What strikes me is the directness. There’s no messing around here; it's a one-color print, blue, and a clear image of a bird. The texture is really what grabs you, isn’t it? The rough, almost haphazard carving gives the bird this incredible sense of life. Look at the way she’s suggested the feathers with these quick, scratched lines. Each mark feels so deliberate, yet somehow loose. It’s like she’s capturing the essence of “birdness” rather than trying to paint a perfect picture of a bird. And the way the blue ink isn’t perfectly even, it adds to that feeling of spontaneity. It reminds me a little of the German Expressionist woodcuts, like Heckel or Kirchner. A shared kind of raw energy and a willingness to embrace the imperfections of the medium. It’s not about beauty, it’s about feeling.