Phonograph and Guitar c. 1928

Jan Matulka made this small print, Phonograph and Guitar, using black ink to pull the image from a block, probably wood or linoleum. It's a humble medium, yet it sings with the graphic confidence of Cubism. Look at how he divides the record on the phonograph into stark black and white halves. This isn't just about light and shadow, it’s a way of seeing. The guitar, or maybe it's a banjo, leans in like it's whispering a secret. The grain of the wooden box is so lovingly rendered, you can almost smell the sawdust. I’m drawn to the steps in the lower right. They lead nowhere and everywhere at once. This reminds me of the prints of Stuart Davis, who also used humble commercial art techniques to make images with a real American twang. These guys weren’t afraid to mix high and low, to let the world in, noise and all. Art doesn't always have to be pretty; sometimes, it just needs to be real.