Untitled (Floral Still Life) c. 1920

Walt Kuhn made this Untitled Floral Still Life as a woodcut, and it's the stark black and white that first grabs you, right? It's all about cutting away, a real carving out of the image. This print really pushes the contrast, where everything is either there or it isn't, which makes the shapes feel both solid and like they could disappear any second. Notice how Kuhn uses these parallel lines, like hatching, to suggest volume and shadow, but then he throws in these flat shapes that refuse to play by the rules. There’s this one blossom, up top, it feels almost weightless, like it’s about to float right off the page. I'm reminded a bit of Marsden Hartley, someone else playing with flatness and form, and these guys were both exploring what it meant to be modern, to flatten the world and then try to build it back up again with your own two hands, or your own blade. It feels like there's no right answer, and maybe that’s the point.