Bassist 1969

Chaim Goldberg created this print titled 'Bassist' with a deeply etched lino block and stark monochromatic ink. I imagine the artist carving into that resistant surface, each line a deliberate act. The world of the musician emerges, formed through the removal of material, a kind of reverse alchemy. Look at the sky above the bassist, each cloud and streak has been painstakingly hewn, creating a scene brimming with energy. I wonder what Goldberg was thinking, what was he listening to when he made this piece? Maybe he felt a kinship with his subject, a fellow artist coaxing expression from an unyielding medium? The houses in the background hint at a community, a shared culture shaped by music and art. Goldberg invites us into this conversation, this visual song that resonates with feeling. We artists are all in this together, aren't we?