Metal Workers 1925

Martin Petersen made this etching titled ‘Metal Workers’ sometime in the first half of the 20th century. Look closely, and you’ll see how he uses many tiny, close-together lines to build up the forms and shadows. It’s almost like he’s knitting the image together, stitch by careful stitch. The inky blacks are so velvety, especially in the foreground. And notice how the metal takes on a life of its own, reflecting light in odd ways that make you unsure of what you are seeing. The surface is alive with grease and dirt, which somehow elevates it. In the shadows of the seated worker’s apron, there’s this beautiful chaos of crisscrossing lines. It's like a dense thicket that hides the underlying structure. This makes me think of the etchings of Whistler or the social realism of Kollwitz, both of whom used a similar tonal approach. What is revealed is the way in which labour is an act of making and also of seeing.