Oorlogsgeweld 1933 - 1935

This small woodcut, "Oorlogsgeweld", is by an anonymous artist, who made it by cutting into wood to make an image. The thing I love about woodcut, as a painter, is that the artist is really committed. Once that mark is made, it's made! The image shows a scene of violence. It’s a black and white image—stark, immediate, and raw. I imagine the artist thinking about Käthe Kollwitz, whose woodcuts and lithographs also show the devastating effects of war. You can feel the influence! Look at the figure raising the flag. I bet they were thinking, “How do I make this shape read, fast and from a distance?” These artists are in a conversation, across time, inspiring each other. The violence in the scene is rendered in a raw and straightforward way—the human figures are all sharp angles. Like they’re screaming, and that scream stays with you. Making art means embracing the ambiguity of life. There's no right or wrong answer in art, just different ways of seeing.