Untitled (Mesler Terrace) 1924

Curator: Kenneth Callahan created "Untitled (Mesler Terrace)" in 1924, using etching techniques to portray a cityscape. What strikes you when you first see this piece? Editor: A kind of cinematic grimness, honestly. Like a still from a silent horror film. The heavy lines, the figure lurking...it’s all very noir. Curator: It’s the drama, isn't it? The severe contrasts he's wrung from the printmaking, those skittering shadows...and Callahan captures a real moment in time—pre-war grit etched in the lines of everyday buildings. Editor: He has orchestrated the tonality to guide the viewer's gaze diagonally up the lane, following the looming figure to the balcony overhead, heightening the sense of suspense or intrigue through implied narrative. The choice of black and white really helps create the unsettling, dark mood too. What’s that figure holding, though? Is it a tool? Curator: Perhaps. I find Callahan so relatable—it feels almost instinctual when I observe his art. This print feels melancholic. Maybe the figure is just someone returning home after a long shift... Or maybe I’m also stuck in that silent movie vibe you got at first sight! The setting is everything – these once glorious spaces starting to fade around the edges. Editor: Definitely, there’s an element of decay rendered powerfully by his emphasis on chiaroscuro—strong contrasts in light and shadow across the architecture. Semiotically, one could also argue the solitary man symbolizes alienation within the urban landscape, highlighting post-war existential themes. It adds intellectual depth. Curator: For me it brings on a flood of feelings. Callahan gets you thinking, makes your chest heavy, leaves you chewing over little visual crumbs like this for days afterward. What else can art offer if not that sort of visceral punch? Editor: Indeed, both visually and thematically, this small print shows how close early twentieth century aesthetic was to modernity's social, and individual anxieties. Thanks for shining a light.