Man with Sideburns 1922 - 1923

Marc Chagall made this print, Man with Sideburns, and like a lot of his work, it feels like a memory. It’s all done with lithography, which is like drawing with a greasy crayon on a stone and then printing it. Look at the way the blacks are laid down. It’s not about precision. It’s about feeling, like he’s trying to catch a ghost. The texture is everything, right? That’s the thing about litho, you get this velvety darkness, but it’s also kind of crumbly. Notice how the sideburns themselves are these wild, spiraling scribbles. It’s like he’s not just drawing hair, but the energy of the guy. Chagall always reminded me a bit of another great, Philip Guston. Both of them worked in these dreamy, free-associative ways. The image never quite settles; it’s always in the process of becoming. Art doesn't have to be so serious. Sometimes, the best stuff is when you’re just messing around, trying to catch something elusive.