Rendition c. 1954

Billy Morrow Jackson made "Rendition," this etching, sometime in the 20th century. It's all about these beautifully frenetic lines, hatching, cross-hatching, stippling; a real celebration of mark-making as a process. You can almost feel the artist's hand moving across the plate, building up the image layer by layer. The way he uses these marks creates an incredibly rich texture, especially in areas like the figure's hair and the shadows around the trombone. The details in the hands and the way the trombone player's suit seems to dissolve into the background feels like a comment on the fleeting nature of performance. There's something about the way the figures interact, or maybe don't interact, that reminds me of Max Beckmann’s prints – that same sense of alienation and unease, but with a jazzy twist. Ultimately, Jackson’s work invites us to embrace the unknown and revel in the multiple ways a single image can be interpreted.