Untitled (Industrial Scene) c. 1930 - 1940

Walter Simmons Breene made this etching of an industrial scene, and it’s really got me thinking about the mark-making process involved in capturing something so huge and imposing. Look at the sky, and the clouds of smoke, and the way the light plays off them. It's all built up through these tiny, almost frantic lines. I can imagine Breene hunched over his plate, etching away, trying to get the feeling of this place, the scale, the weight of it all. There’s a real dance between the sharp, geometric lines of the buildings and the fluid, almost chaotic lines of the smoke. It's a tough ask to make industry look romantic, and he sort of pulls it off. What really gets me going is thinking about how artists, like Breene, wrestle with their materials to express what they see and feel. It's a conversation across time, a constant exchange of ideas and techniques that keeps the whole thing alive.