The Mandrake 2000

Jim Dine made this print, called The Mandrake, using etching and hand coloring techniques. It feels like a collision of botanical illustration with something a bit darker and more psychological. Look at the way the colors bleed into each other – the inky greens of the leaves against that teal background, and how it gives the whole image this watery, dreamlike quality. The etching itself is all about the line, and there's this wiry energy to it. The roots, they look like they could start walking any minute, don’t they? The leaves, they're almost heart-shaped, but also kind of menacing. It's like Dine is showing us the beauty and the danger all wrapped up together. For me, Dine always had that sensibility. Think of other artists like Redon, who find ways to make strangeness and beauty feel like two sides of the same coin. Art's not about answers, it's about how much space it makes for feeling and thinking.