Mirror 1941

Stanley William Hayter made "Mirror" as an etching; a tight little world of dark lines on a silvery ground. I imagine the artist hunched over the plate, working into it, letting the image come into being through trial and error. It’s all angles and sharp edges, softened by the subtle texture. Look how the composition divides into two halves. On one side, a sort of fractured face with a cyclopean eye; on the other, a flurry of scribbled lines that resolve into another face. The combination evokes Picasso or maybe even a Francis Bacon. I can imagine Hayter grappling with this plate, making bold choices, and pushing the medium to its limits. He's in conversation with all the great printmakers who came before him. And as the viewer, we join that conversation too.