Visitor's Day c. 1935 - 1943

David Feinstein made this linocut, Visitor's Day, at some unknown date, using what looks like a pretty direct approach: carving away material to let the paper show through. It's like a reverse drawing, where the white spaces become as important as the black lines. The whole image has this incredible tactile quality; you can almost feel the give of the linoleum as Feinstein cut into it. Look closely at the faces in the audience; there's so much character in each one, achieved with such simple means. It's a testament to the power of observation and distillation. The scratchy texture of the linocut gives the whole scene a kind of raw, unfiltered feel, like a memory surfacing from a long time ago. It makes me think of artists like Elizabeth Catlett or maybe even some of the German Expressionists, who were also working with printmaking to capture the grit and reality of everyday life. It’s this kind of work that reminds us that art doesn’t always have to be polished or refined to be deeply moving.