II. Evocation of the Ancestors 1943

Helen King Boyer made this print, Evocation of the Ancestors, with dark ink on paper. It's all about marks really; small hatched lines together create areas of dark shadow, while the paper left bare becomes highlights in the scene. Looking closely, you can see the texture of the paper itself. The ink sits on the surface in different densities, creating a kind of shimmering effect. The light catches on those tiny lines, making the whole image feel alive. See that figure in the center, arms raised to the sky? The details are amazing, the way each little stroke of the tool gives him form and weight. He seems to be communicating with something, maybe those smokey forms above. The scene is quite evocative, but in terms of other artists, it has an almost Goya-esque, nightmarish quality. Boyer really captures the idea of art as an ongoing conversation, adding her own voice to the mix. Ultimately, the work is about embracing the unknown.