Untitled (Dirigible Hangar) 1930

John Csosz made this print of a dirigible hangar with etching, a process where the artist draws into a wax ground on a metal plate, then bathes it in acid. Look at the frenetic lines and hatching that make up the huge arch of the hangar’s roof. These kinds of marks are baked right into the process of etching. It’s all about action and labor, like the building itself. The acid bites into the plate, mirroring the way the tools of construction bite into the landscape. See how the smoke rises from the cranes? It's echoed in the smudges and trails in the sky, a kind of atmospheric grit that gives the image an urgency. Csosz also made prints of factories and bridges. His images celebrate industry, and the marks, lines, and textures he makes give an insider’s view of the making of things. It’s a conversation about how we build our world, one line, one bite, one mark at a time.