Sokotra c. 1913

Karl Hofer made this print, Sokotra, and it is all about the process, a dance of lines that define the image and also dissolve it. The texture comes from the physical act of etching, you can almost feel the artist dragging the tool across the plate. The figures are rendered in a way that feels both classical and deeply personal, those simple lines have a lot of weight. Look at the way Hofer captures the bird in flight, those frantic strokes, almost like the bird is an extension of the artist's own hand. It reminds me a little bit of Beckmann, that same intensity and psychological charge, but Hofer has his own voice. Ultimately, it's the ambiguity that keeps me coming back to this piece. It's not about easy answers, but about embracing the questions.