Corn Huskers 1934

Ernest Fiene made this lithograph, Corn Huskers, sometime in the mid-20th century. Look at the direction of the marks: they follow the forms, building them up bit by bit. You get a real sense of the artist’s hand and how it feels to make a picture like this. The textures here are amazing. The soft, shaggy corn stalks in the background, like hair on a head, compared to the hard, nubby kernels the figures are dealing with. The contrast makes the whole scene vibrate. I’m drawn to the way Fiene uses light and shadow to define the figures’ clothing. It's simple, but it gives them so much weight and presence. The little marks build up and describe the scene as if the artist is feeling around in the dark. It reminds me a bit of some of the WPA artists, maybe someone like Thomas Hart Benton, who were also interested in depicting everyday American life. It's like a quiet conversation across time, each artist adding their voice to the mix. Ultimately, it's up to us to decide what it all means, and that’s the beauty of art, isn’t it?