Petroglyphs 1935 - 1942

This is Lala Eve Rivol’s "Petroglyphs," created sometime during her lifetime with ink on paper. I imagine her making a print, layering and pressing shapes into the paper’s surface. I really feel for Rivol, channeling ancient forms to make something new! What was it like to sit with these images of shamans and spirits? I wonder what she thought about. She takes the visual language of indigenous peoples, which were themselves made by hand on stone. Then she prints them, making a copy from a copy! Look at the red lightning bolt that goes up the left edge of the picture plane! I wonder what feelings the artist had while making it and how she was able to transcribe that emotional moment onto the printing plate. The forms have a very immediate presence and a sense of the artist's hand. It reminds me of the way Klee made work, as well as other artists, where mark making is like a language. In the end, it’s all one conversation, this act of making!