Masonry Versus Sky 1936

Arnold Wiltz made this print titled 'Masonry Versus Sky' in 1936. Look at those puffy clouds rendered so distinctly against a dark sky, while at the bottom there is a pile of rocks stacked in such a way that they almost mimic the sky. I wonder what Wiltz was thinking as he labored over this image? Maybe he was thinking about the difference between natural and human-made things; between things that move, like clouds, and things that don't, like rocks and walls. You can see a diagonal compositional structure that opposes the textures of the clouds and the rocks, one flowing and the other not. I imagine him working on the rocks at the bottom, each one outlined with a sort of rough, sure line that emphasizes their weight and presence. In contrast, the clouds are rendered in feathery strokes. The image has a dream-like quality, like a landscape seen through the filter of memory or imagination. For me, this is not just a depiction of a landscape, but also a meditation on change and permanence. It is almost as if Wiltz invites us to contemplate our place in the world.