In Memoriam 1938

John Taylor Arms made "In Memoriam" with pen, ink and graphite on paper. Look at those lines! They remind me of Piranesi, you know, the way he could spin a whole world out of etched lines. Arms is working in that same tradition of architectural fantasy but with such precision. I can almost feel him bent over the paper, squinting to get every detail of the cathedral just right. But it’s not really about perfect representation, is it? It’s more like he’s trying to capture the feeling of the cathedral, its weight and monumentality. The way the facade looms, with the steps leading up and up, it feels less like a building and more like a mountain. It makes me think about how every artist is in conversation with the ones who came before, riffing and building on their ideas. They are turning feelings into lines.