Another Day 1936

Curator: This is Friedolin Kessler’s "Another Day," a woodcut print from 1936. There's such raw emotion embedded in those cuts. Editor: It has such a palpable sense of weariness. The tight composition, all those thick black lines creating stark contrast... you immediately get a sense of a cramped, stifling space. Like air thick with unspoken grievances. Curator: The social realism movement often portrayed everyday struggles. Kessler's visual vocabulary uses stark contrasts to highlight a difficult life. But beyond the stark portrayal of fatigue, note how there’s also the silent companionship, the quiet moments of shared stories as solace from hard work. Editor: The stove! Isn't it the heart of the picture, though? The men are clustered around it, but it looks cold. The sleeping man yawns widely and looks completely exposed with his head thrown back. Curator: Yes, warmth feels elusive, doesn’t it? I can almost hear that yawn—that desperate attempt at release. It’s interesting to reflect on what Kessler doesn’t show, what he lets us, the viewer, fill in. What stories, do you think, those other men are reading? The one man reading almost looks trapped between hope and utter hopelessness. Editor: Well, in iconographic terms, books often signal wisdom or knowledge. However, depending on how a figure interacts with the book—or even its mere presence—a whole new level of complexity may be introduced. What about the sleeping dog—how sweet he tucked at the bottom. He makes for a curious addition. He may well carry an emotional message here. I can't quite say. Curator: Absolutely. Perhaps, as an archetypal symbol, it underscores an intuitive sensitivity or vigilance despite apparent apathy. Dogs, too, were working animals so this makes perfect sense in the overall composition. Editor: Looking at this print, you feel as though you know all these men so well. What haunts me most is this lingering sense of expectancy—the endless cycles these characters face, their resignation despite everything. Curator: Exactly. "Another Day", another battle perhaps, or maybe, against all odds, there is quiet hope. A future day dawning. It makes you wonder what stories they carried out of that room the very next morning.