Harbor Pier with Lighthouse (Hafenmole mit Leuchtbake) 1918

Editor: Here we have Lyonel Feininger's "Harbor Pier with Lighthouse," created in 1918 using linocut printmaking. The stark black and red, along with the angular lines, give it a somewhat unsettling, almost claustrophobic feel. What strikes you most about this print? Curator: What’s compelling is how Feininger uses such a rudimentary, easily accessible medium like linocut to depict a complex, industrial harbor. The means of production itself becomes part of the artwork’s statement, don't you think? The deliberate crudeness challenges any notions of artistic elitism, connecting high art with the more accessible realms of craft and labor. Editor: That's a great point. I hadn't considered how the choice of linocut democratizes the image. It also seems interesting given that it was made at the end of WWI; I wonder how the socio-economic context is embedded? Curator: Exactly! Think about the availability of materials during wartime. A simple linocut aligns with the austerity and resourcefulness of the era. The geometric forms, influenced by Cubism, suggest a fragmented world struggling for order after the destruction. Is he depicting actual architecture, or architecture created under a war economy? Also, notice the texture created by the linocut itself. How does that contribute to the feeling? Editor: It emphasizes the rawness, the starkness of the scene. There is also that repetitive mark-making technique that you talked about at the beginning, so it looks like waves but also rhythmic movements produced through labor! Curator: Precisely. The visible labor involved in creating the print underscores the labor depicted within it. And with this kind of geometric abstraction, how does this relate to the socio-political landscape that Feininger and other German Expressionist artists were reacting to? Editor: I see how you’ve connected the process, the materials, and the social environment. That makes the print so much richer. Thanks! Curator: It’s fascinating how even a simple print like this reveals so much about the artist's choices and the world they inhabited.