Girl with the Black Gloves 1936

Curator: "Girl with the Black Gloves," made in 1936 by Bernece Berkman-Hunter, who worked primarily in the Midwest. What catches your eye first here? Editor: The sharp, angular quality of the figures! It feels so immediate and stark. Reminds me of social realism prints from the WPA era – there's something about the collective subject, almost confrontational. What can you tell me about the materials? Curator: Well, it’s a woodcut, so immediately we understand the material informs the aesthetic. The artist carved away at a block of wood to create this image—that accounts for its graphic style. Think about the physical act; how much pressure was required, how the gouges and lines appear on the printed surface... it's powerful! I sense the artist really wrestling with something here. Editor: Exactly! That physical engagement interests me too. Woodcuts, traditionally considered a more "accessible" print medium than, say, etching, due to its relative ease of production, has a connection to both folk art and the mass dissemination of imagery, which is relevant here. Also it looks like mixed media was used, likely the artist reworked areas after printing. Curator: Interesting point, about access. Though access wasn't necessarily universal. Maybe Bernece didn't have all the traditional means, so it represents resourcefulness more than an attempt to address some working class concern or make art more accessible to a specific social group, which many were interested in. She might be showing a hidden side to urban life in that moment. A claustrophobic feeling permeates that public interior setting, right? Like, a critique, you feel almost cornered in that space! Editor: Yes, cornered. Absolutely! The high contrast only intensifies that tension. Looking at the black gloves… such a simple detail, yet so effective. They pull your eye directly to her, making you wonder about the meaning behind the image's title and her existence outside this one fleeting glimpse. The making has allowed me to think about its social existence, and, really, their social existence, in the image too! Curator: I agree. And how can we really extract the real world from a thing so meticulously planned. Thanks to Bernece Berkman-Hunter for this potent vision. Editor: Indeed. The material reality offers such rich and human perspectives.