Gargantua: Chapter XIII 1942

Bernard Reder made this etching, Gargantua: Chapter XIII, with the same kind of nervous energy I feel when I start a new painting. It feels a bit chaotic, doesn't it? I wonder what Reder was thinking when he put all these figures together in this scene. I see women, chickens, rabbits, a building. What does it all mean? Is he trying to tell a story? Or is it more about the feeling that all these different elements create together? The image has a kind of dream logic to it, where anything can happen. The lines are so sharp, and the contrast between light and dark gives it a real sense of drama. I think Reder was exploring how to create a world on paper using just black and white, and in doing so how to create an emotional landscape, too. It reminds me of other artists like Paula Rego and Kiki Smith, who also use fantastical imagery to explore the human condition.