Atlantis c. 1952

Josef Presser made this etching, called Atlantis, sometime in the mid-20th century. The whole thing is a jumble of marks, scratchy lines that are sometimes dense and sometimes sparse. It reminds me of the way you can start a drawing without a plan, letting the marks lead you. If you look closely, you can see how Presser used different tools to create different kinds of lines. Some are thin and delicate, others are thick and bold. There’s a real sense of texture to the piece. Your eye can travel all over the plate; the longer you look, the more forms emerge. A skull here, a bird there, a vase or a building. I love that it's hard to tell what's what, it allows for multiple interpretations and meanings. This kind of swirling, chaotic composition reminds me of some of Max Beckmann's prints. It’s like Presser is inviting us to dive into the depths of his imagination, or maybe even the depths of the lost city itself.