Greenwich Village "El" c. 1935 - 1943

Michael Leone's "Greenwich Village 'El'" is a print of undetermined date, and its charm lies in its graphic simplicity. The way Leone’s captured the El is like a child’s building blocks, pure color. It's like looking at the city through a playful filter. The textures are flat, giving it a poster-like quality. Look at the pink criss-cross girders of the El, they’re not trying to be realistic, and the mix of blue and grey make the street an abstract field, which is cut through with ruled aquamarine lines, implying space. The way the buildings are rendered with flat planes reminds me of Stuart Davis, or even Milton Avery. In the end, it's the way Leone isn’t trying to trick you into thinking this is real that I find so compelling. It’s a place of feelings, not facts, and in that way this unassuming little print has a lot to teach us.