The Court Rules 1927

This print by Dwight Case Sturges, titled "The Court Rules", looks to me like it was made with a drypoint needle or something like it, digging directly into the metal to create a burr, catching ink and making those velvety lines. You know, there’s something about the quality of the marks here that feels like thinking. It’s as if the artist is not just depicting an image, but also working through an idea, one line at a time. Look at the way the subject’s face is rendered, obscured by a sort of veil of crisscrossing lines. Those lines slice the image like a guillotine. Is this about the law? The harsh rulings of judges? Think about an artist like Philip Guston who also came to use a crude, heavily worked line to great effect. Art thrives on ambiguity, right? On leaving things open to interpretation. So, maybe “The Court Rules” isn’t about answers, but about questions, the lines of inquiry that shape our perceptions.