Profile Head (Self-Portrait) 1930

Curator: Well, hello there. Here we have Ernst Ludwig Kirchner’s 1930 woodcut, “Profile Head (Self-Portrait).” A stark and striking image. Editor: My initial gut feeling is, unsettling. It's so graphic, almost aggressively so, with those sharp lines and high contrast. Is he biting on a matchstick? Or some sort of twisted nail? Curator: I see where you are coming from; this certainly challenges the traditional notions of a self-portrait. He has this penetrating gaze and, yes, that is a cigarette. It certainly makes a strong, somewhat alienated statement about the artist himself. What do you make of the figure reflected in the eye? Editor: Ah, now that's interesting. Within the eye, it looks almost like a dream, another self or muse contorting in there like a captive… perhaps his anxiety reflected in an external object, maybe as a creative personification inside the creator's eye. It is almost like it suggests we are not in control of what we choose to imagine... like an impulse. Curator: Exactly. That tension you perceive comes from Kirchner’s own internal struggles. His experiences during World War I deeply affected him. After suffering a mental breakdown, his art started reflecting a darker view of the world, especially in regards to modern industrial society. Editor: I can totally sense the feeling of psychological drama. Kirchner’s use of woodcut enhances the piece’s expressive power as the texture accentuates the rawness, giving it this emotionally agitated and intense quality. The social critique feels raw and deeply embedded, does this type of creative visual practice become almost like therapy in times of alienation? Curator: Precisely. Art as a visceral outlet, transforming personal pain into a powerful commentary. Woodcut’s inherent qualities--the sharp cuts and stark contrast-- perfectly express the anxiety and fragmentation of the era. What a truly captivating image. Editor: Absolutely, an interesting portrait of an era as much as of himself; leaving us questioning what lies beneath our own self-reflections, and, like, if you zoom into your iris...