Bei der Vogelscheuche 1958

This etching by Walter Rauch shows a scarecrow looming over sleeping figures. I imagine Rauch hunched over a metal plate, scratching away with a sharp tool, building up this bizarre scene with thousands of tiny lines. It makes me think about the weird worlds that artists like James Ensor or Alfred Kubin conjured up. Maybe Rauch was thinking about them too? There is a real conversation across generations of artists who build strange and unnerving worlds, finding new ways of seeing, thinking, and experiencing the world. I love the way the scarecrow seems to be both protecting and threatening the sleepers. What dreams might they be having under the watch of this strange guardian? The etching feels like a dream itself – unsettling, surreal, but also strangely beautiful. It reminds us that art doesn’t always have to be pretty, sometimes the most powerful work comes from exploring the darker corners of the imagination.