„Pesothlanny“ c. 1910 - 1920

Karl E. Moon made this drawing, „Pesothlanny“, at an unknown date, with pen and paper. Just imagine him there, alone with the page! He’s using brown ink and white heightening to really make it pop. You can feel the artist's hand moving, hatching, and cross-hatching, pushing light and shadow. He is drawing the crucifixion of Jesus. You have a clear idea of the scene, but the figures are all a bit round, or are they like clouds? There is a strange sense of distortion, particularly with the central figure of the man on the cross. He is reaching toward the divine, but it’s also as if he is made of divine substance, and that substance is light and gas and cloud and spirit. I wonder if Karl E. Moon knew where the drawing was going when he started, or was he like me, just following the line, one stroke at a time, until something emerges? Moon’s process embodies doubt and searching, the marks are not so sure and clear, creating an image full of uncertainty. Artists are always in dialogue, aren’t they?