Anthracite Mine 1935

Esther Brock Bird made this print called Anthracite Mine, and it's a scene of industry, hard labor, and maybe, faith. I wonder what it was like for Esther to stand before this scene, charcoal in hand, deciding how to translate such a massive, complex site into a series of marks. The smokestacks reach up like gothic spires, but the plume that flows from them reminds me that this is no sacred site. What does it mean to depict this place? To give it form on paper? Notice the way the artist varies the pressure of their lines, creating areas of dense shadow and open space. These lines capture the weight and density of the industrial landscape, communicating a feeling of tension and ambiguity, a feeling that the place is heavy with both production and destruction. Like many artists before and since, Esther is showing us that art and industry need to be on our minds.