Oil Wells - Playa Del Rey 1948

Glenn Anthony Wessels created this print titled 'Oil Wells – Playa del Rey' in 1948, capturing the industrial landscape. Here, the oil derricks stand as stark symbols of modernity and human ambition. The image evokes the Tower of Babel, that ancient symbol of human hubris and the quest to reach the divine. Oil, the lifeblood of modern industry, becomes a symbol of human striving, akin to the alchemists' search for the elixir of life. The derricks, with their repetitive, geometric forms, also echo the visual language of ancient ziggurats, those stepped pyramids of Mesopotamia. These towering structures served as bridges between the earthly and the divine. Similarly, these oil wells seek to extract nature's hidden bounty. There is a deeply embedded psychological narrative here, a potent image of human desire and its relentless drive to conquer and transform the natural world.