Man 

Sue Coe made this artwork called ‘Man’ using traditional drawing materials – graphite and colored pencil on paper. It is an unusual medium because in a world of digital imagery, Coe has stayed true to the physical, the material, and the manually produced. The weight and texture of the lines speak volumes. The sharp dark marks of the graphite capture a somber mood, and the unforgiving lines and erasures lend the work a sense of urgency. The artist's hand is so present. This haptic quality is important because Coe’s work is deeply invested in social justice. Her work serves as an indictment of industrial capitalism and its effect on the natural world and the creatures that inhabit it. In the tradition of artists like Kathe Kollwitz, the artist makes an appeal to our conscience through her craft, reminding us that even in our digital age, we are still physical beings in a world that makes demands on us, and on which we, in turn, make demands.