Untitled (City) 1938 - 1948

Curator: Standing before us is Lynd Ward's "Untitled (City)," a woodcut print created sometime between 1938 and 1948. Ward was known for his wordless novels told through sequences of wood engravings. Editor: My first impression is stark; the contrast just leaps out. It feels so gritty, like the city itself—all those harsh angles and looming structures. A visual cacophony! Curator: The high contrast is definitely characteristic of woodcut printing, where the artist carves away at the woodblock. Notice how Ward uses the negative space, the white areas, to define forms. He pushes light and shadow for maximum impact. Editor: It's dramatic. There's almost a film noir quality to it, with those looming skyscrapers and the massive crane dominating the skyline. What's with that giant pipe they’re wrestling with, anyway? Curator: Well, that's part of what makes the image compelling, right? It evokes the constant state of flux in urban environments. The image offers a commentary on labor and infrastructure within rapidly changing metropolitan areas, depicting men at work laying down some large conduit within this stylized cityscape. Editor: Change... chaos, maybe? The perspective is disorienting. That crane feels menacing and those anonymous workers almost seem like ants against the backdrop of urban monoliths. It speaks volumes about man’s relationship with industry. Curator: Interesting point. The scene can appear as imposing or inspiring, depending on your reading. During the period when it was created, debates swirled around the ethics of urbanization, modern technology, and city planning. But perhaps it also reveals a sense of progress, even with an acknowledgment of the disruption it entails. Editor: Perhaps! What gets me is the feeling of impermanence. Everything’s in progress, nothing feels stable or settled. Even the swirling clouds look restless. A feeling that even today resonates with cities constantly being reborn. Curator: The medium supports the message. Printmaking, particularly woodcut, aligns itself with movements addressing working class people—as its traditional forms render art making into industrial activity that reproduces multiples for larger public consumption. Editor: Thinking about it now, that raw quality mirrors the reality of building a city, doesn't it? It’s not all polished steel and glass, there’s grit and muscle involved, constantly laying the pipes of modernity. Curator: Precisely, it strips bare the romantic gloss associated with urban living and industrial enterprise, showing you a working landscape caught at its very fulcrum of creation. It also hints, though, that such toil comes with great cost. Editor: It does! And for that, it captures perfectly the spirit of the modern city: perpetually under construction. Curator: Lynd Ward's perspective, indeed, invites further discussion. Thank you both for accompanying us in our analysis of this work.