Spencer Scrubber Tower 1947

Kent Hagerman made this etching, Spencer Scrubber Tower, and it’s all about lines, like he's sketching with acid on a plate, pulling us into this industrial scene. The light seems to be coming from everywhere and nowhere, just bouncing off these cold, metallic surfaces, almost romanticizing them. It's like he's trying to find some beauty in the beast of industry. I imagine Hagerman standing there, sketching away, trying to capture not just the shapes but the feeling of this place. It's easy to see the influence of artists like Joseph Pennell, who also found a strange beauty in industrial landscapes. What’s so interesting is how he’s turned the verticals of the tower into something with an almost cathedral like feeling. I wonder what the workers thought of Hagerman's presence. Did they see him as just another outsider, or did they get a sense that he was trying to understand their world? Artists like Hagerman remind us that painting and printmaking aren't just about pretty pictures. It's a way of engaging with the world, of trying to make sense of the chaos and contradictions of modern life.