Embryonical 1941

This is Ian Hugo’s “Embryonical”, an etching made in 1961. I can only imagine the meticulous work that went into creating the image. See all the tiny lines and intricate patterns? The longer you look, the more the forms begin to emerge from the ethereal fog: plants, animals, and human figures. This reminds me of Hilma af Klint, who was making similarly strange and compelling images, also with painstaking detail. Klint wanted to visualize the invisible, while Hugo said that he sought to ‘exteriorize the interior’. I wonder what it was like for him as he carved into that metal plate, translating his imagination into physical form, working in reverse to reveal this world, layer by layer? Ultimately, artists like Hugo are in constant conversation with one another, inspiring each other across time and space. There is an ambiguity to art making. I find that rewarding because we can interpret art in multiple ways!