Metamorphoses 1961

Andre Masson made this print, Metamorphoses, and well, you can see it right here at MoMA. It's all about the process, and the way the marks dig into the plate to create this intense, almost frenzied scene. Looking at it, I see this churning, organic texture, like the earth itself is alive and transforming. The lines aren't precious; they're raw and energetic. It makes me think about artmaking as this kind of primal act, almost violent, yet generative. There's a spot, right in the center, where the lines converge to form what looks like a figure emerging from the chaos. This reminds me a bit of Goya's darker prints, or maybe even some of Picasso’s more expressionistic works. But Masson has his own thing going on; it's like he's letting the subconscious take over. It shows how the best art invites us into a world of shifting meanings, where nothing is ever really fixed.