Portage 1930

Kerr Eby made this print called "Portage" sometime between the wars. The word “portage” itself makes me think of carrying. I can feel the struggle of the figure hunched under the weight of the canoe. The artist made so many tiny, tiny marks to create this image, and it's amazing how they all come together. The whole print is made up of shades of dark ink, each one laid down with careful deliberation to describe the world. The way the river rushes, the feel of the man weighed down. It reminds me that every mark is a decision, a little weight added to the thing being made. I wonder, was Eby thinking about the weight of the world? Other artists like Winslow Homer were fascinated by man versus nature, too. Maybe this print is a way to explore that struggle, the burden of being alive.