Mt. Katahdin - from Ripogenos Gorge 1965

Curator: This woodcut print, "Mt. Katahdin - from Ripogenos Gorge," was created in 1965 by Carroll Thayer Berry. What are your immediate impressions? Editor: Stark! The interplay of solid black and reserved white carves out a dramatic space. It evokes a sense of deep solitude, almost forbidding, but majestic. Curator: Absolutely. Berry harnesses the graphic power of woodcut to communicate the grandeur of Katahdin. The mountain itself, a symbolic representation of untouched wilderness, is placed at the very top. Editor: Yes, and the visual language here is key. Notice how the lone birch in the foreground acts almost as a symbolic mediator. Its slender form against the monumental mountain reminds me of Romantic-era works that use the “Rückenfigur” to prompt contemplation of nature's sublimity. Curator: Interesting, you bring up the notion of the sublime! Berry expertly controls value contrasts. Dark, brooding tones in the gorge and the stark white of the snowy mountain create a potent emotional pull. It isn’t simply a record; it's an active construction of visual interest. Editor: Definitely. The gorge could symbolize the dangerous or unconscious elements of the mind—the untamed raw power. While the summit perhaps, embodies aspiration or enlightenment? Katahdin, and the surrounding Maine wilderness more broadly, became an important image for environmental movements. Curator: Indeed. The work reveals a refined sense of compositional architecture. Note the converging lines, drawing the eye into the composition—a deliberate attempt to engage the viewer. The contrast is essential for understanding this piece; this creates an interplay between the solid permanence of Katahdin and its temporality reflected through fleeting images in the water and the foreground details of exposed rocky riverbeds. Editor: Well observed! It speaks volumes about our ingrained associations between landscapes and meaning, doesn't it? We keep searching for echoes and messages. Curator: It’s clear Berry had much to say here through carefully articulated visual relationships and tonal gradations. Editor: Agreed. It makes me want to revisit some historical accounts of the early Katahdin expeditions and think further on wilderness in the American psyche!