Report from Korea 1953

John Muench created this print, Report from Korea, using monochrome shading to communicate grief and despair. I see a tall, gaunt figure standing behind two women, their heads bowed in sorrow. The lines, so stark, create a claustrophobic space, amplifying the heavy mood. I think about Muench, his hand moving across the paper, translating the weight of war into these gradations of light and shadow. There's something about the man's elongated neck and the way the women's faces are hidden that speaks to the dehumanizing effects of conflict. Maybe Muench was thinking about artists like Kathe Kollwitz, who also used printmaking to express the trauma of war. It feels like there's a real lineage there, a conversation across time about how to bear witness through art. Ultimately, this piece invites us to contemplate the human cost of conflict. It acknowledges the ongoing dialogue between artists past and present who wrestle with representing suffering, loss, and resilience through their work.