Untitled (Dirigible Hangar) 1930

John Csosz made this etching, Untitled (Dirigible Hangar), sometime in the 20th century, and wow, what a feat of engineering! Imagine the artist, Csosz, bent over his plate, his eyes squinting as he incises these tiny lines, building up the image bit by bit. I feel a kinship with him here. It's like he's constructing this hangar, and it becomes a world, right there on that surface. The stark black lines against the white of the paper create such a contrast, really emphasizing the scale and the volume of the structure. It reminds me of Piranesi, you know, those sprawling architectural fantasies, but with an industrial twist. Look at how the lines converge and diverge, creating this incredible sense of depth and space. You can almost feel the air moving within that massive structure. And the cranes outside? They are like spindly insects compared to the enormity of the hangar itself. It’s pretty cool how artists, through their work, engage in a constant conversation, inspiring each other across time.