Boardwalk Religion 1948

Jerome Kaplan made this print called 'Boardwalk Religion' with etching and engraving. With its sharp lines and monochrome palette, I get a sense of something raw, a little bit unpolished. You can imagine Kaplan hunched over his plate, digging into the metal with tools, almost like he's carving out a piece of his own experience. The figures are stylized, almost angular, and there's a kind of directness to the way they're depicted. There's a mix of seriousness and, dare I say, a little bit of satire in how he portrays this scene of 'Boardwalk Religion.' There's this feeling that Kaplan's work is part of a longer history of artists who aren't afraid to look at the world with a critical eye. Ultimately, this piece isn't just about what's on the surface. It's an invitation to think, to question, and to engage with the world around us in a more conscious and thoughtful way, you know?