Onder zwart regime / 12 prenten van Alb. Hahn 1904 - 1905

So, here we have ‘Onder zwart regime / 12 prenten van Alb. Hahn’ by Albert Hahn made in 1904, an intriguing black and white print. Hahn's choice of stark monochrome immediately grabs you; it's bold, graphic, and direct. The entire image feels like a block print. Look closely at the lettering. See how the ink sits just a little heavier at the edges of each character? This gives the whole design a tactile quality, as if you could feel the pressure of the printing press. The design in the centre looks like a silhouetted figure in a jacket, perhaps a comment on power. The symmetry and precision reminds me a bit of art nouveau, but with a harder edge, reflecting the seriousness of the subject matter. This play between form and content, this conversation between aesthetics and politics, makes Hahn’s work so compelling. It's this tension that keeps me coming back, searching for new layers of meaning in the depths of its monochrome world. This reminds me a little of the graphic work of someone like Kara Walker, who uses silhouettes to explore themes of race and power.