Downtown New York, Three Movements 1925

John Marin made this print, Downtown New York, Three Movements, by etching lines into a plate – I bet he was using acid. It feels like a quick sketch, but it’s been translated into a more solid form. The lines feel like they're vibrating, which makes me think about how Marin saw the city. He's not just copying what's in front of him, he's trying to get at the feeling of being in the middle of all that energy and movement, the jostle and the noise. I can imagine him walking around downtown with a sketchbook, trying to capture it all, trying to keep up with the pace. What does it mean to stop something and fix it with a line? It's a contradiction, but that's painting for you! Each gesture, each mark is a choice, a feeling, a thought. Like a conversation with the city. Painters, we're all just borrowing from each other, inspired by what came before. And we keep the conversation going.