Stempellokaal 1931

Louis Cardinaals made "Stempellokaal," a woodcut, in 1931. It's all blacks and whites, harsh contrasts, like a photograph that’s been left out in the sun too long. But there's something human in the way the wood is carved. It is clear that Cardinaals allowed the act of carving to influence the forms in the work. These are the faces of a crowd, maybe waiting for something or someone. Look at how the white lines dig into the blackness to create these furrowed brows and tight lips. Each face is a landscape of worry, a map of hard times. See the way the figures are layered. It’s like they’re all pressing in on each other, a mass of bodies and shared anxiety. The scratches at the bottom feel like bars. Cardinaals’ “Stempellokaal” reminds me of the graphic intensity of Kathe Kollwitz, her unflinching portrayals of working-class life. Art making is a process that allows us to see and feel these connections across time and place. There is no one reading.