To Lessing J. Rosenwald 1975

Jay Moon made this aquatint etching called "To Lessing J. Rosenwald" in 1975, and it has a really cool, almost ghostly feel to it. I'm drawn to the tonal range, how the figures emerge from this stippled darkness. The plate looks to have been worked and reworked, creating a palpable sense of depth and texture on the surface. The image flickers with life, the hazy light adding to its mystique. Look closely at the faces; they are all in various states of coming into focus and fading away. It reminds me of the way a memory can become distorted or unclear over time. This reminds me of a few of Rembrandt's etchings, where he also used shadow to create a mood and sense of drama. But Moon brings his own sensibility to the form, focusing on the process of revealing and concealing. Like all good art, this etching resists simple explanations and invites us to get lost in its subtle complexities.