Dark Houses c. 1935 - 1943

Michael Joseph Gallagher made this print called Dark Houses. You know, it's funny—when you look at this, you're almost smelling the place. I mean, the artist has really caught the damp, urban, night-time feeling. It's all stark contrasts, light and shadow, but notice that the darkest darks are interrupted by highlights. What interests me is how the material is handled. This is all about line, hatching, and cross-hatching. Look at the building on the left. All those marks making up that wall! I can imagine the artist working tirelessly, carving into a block of wood and thinking about line in this way. Doesn't it feel like a noir film, maybe German Expressionist, or Social Realist? Anyway, what’s amazing is that Gallagher has totally transformed that block of wood into a world, a moment in time, and a mood, so different from the stark flatness of the material he started with. That’s the magic of printmaking, but also art in general, it’s all about transformation!