Der Vogel & Die Frucht 1947 - 1948

Imre Reiner made this print called 'Der Vogel & Die Frucht' using a pretty physical technique, probably some kind of etching. The whole thing's built up from these tiny, scratchy marks, packed real close together to make dark shadows, and spread further apart for the lighter bits. Looking at how the lines wiggle and change direction, you can almost feel the artist's hand moving across the plate, scraping away. It's like a dance between control and letting go. Then there’s the composition! Everything’s packed in real tight. The bird and fruit overlap and kind of merge into each other. I especially like the way the eye of the bird lines up with the fruit it’s about to peck. That’s a nice touch. Reiner was a commercial artist as well as an ‘artist’ artist and you can see both sides of his practice here. It reminds me a bit of Picasso, but with a twist. It’s like Reiner took Picasso's cubist ideas and ran them through a folk art filter, making something that feels both modern and ancient at the same time.