The So Called Angel 1961

Grace Hartigan made this print, "The So Called Angel", with lithographic ink on paper. Look at these splodges of black, purple, and orange – what kind of angel is made out of that? One that’s maybe fallen to earth, or never made it off the ground. The image has a real physical presence, doesn't it? There’s the texture of the paper, the slight bleed of the ink, the way the colors sit on the surface. Hartigan doesn't seem to be trying to trick us into thinking we are seeing anything other than ink on paper. Take that big, juicy orange square in the middle. You can almost feel the squeegee dragging the ink across the surface, leaving this beautiful, slightly uneven color field. It’s all process, all the time. Hartigan reminds me a bit of Joan Mitchell, another painter who wasn't afraid to get messy and emotional with her materials. Both artists embrace the idea that a painting can be a record of a performance, a kind of dance between the artist and the medium. The beauty is not in perfection, but in the messy, imperfect process of becoming.