Spencer Scrubber Tower 1947

Kent Hagerman made this etching, Spencer Scrubber Tower, and it’s all about the line, isn’t it? The way he’s built up the image with these tiny, insistent strokes, it's like he’s feeling his way through the scene. There's something so tender about the mark-making, even though the subject matter is a big old industrial scene. The texture is created through these hatched lines, almost like whispers, giving the metal and sky a soft, hazy feel. Look at the sky, how it suggests depth and volume with the lightest touch! I'm reminded of Piranesi, in the way he captures the sublime terror of massive architectural structures, but I think Hagerman brings a uniquely American sensibility to it. It feels like a love letter to the industrial landscape, and the workers within it. It’s like he’s saying, “Even here, in the heart of industry, there’s beauty and poetry.”