Stars and Disasters (Astres et Désastres) 1969

Pierre Alechinsky made this print, Stars and Disasters, sometime in the last century, or maybe this one. It’s a landscape of sorts, rendered in simple lines. It gives the feeling that artmaking is a process in which the idea emerges gradually, like an archeological dig. Look at the radiating lines of the "star" above, and the hatched lines making up the land below. The color is thin and watery, and the drawing is loose and sketchy. It's like Alechinsky is thinking out loud, letting us see his process of building up the image line by line. There's a directness, an immediacy, that's really appealing. What's that shape at the bottom though? Is that a figure? This print reminds me of Joan Miró's playful, almost childlike style, or even some of Philip Guston’s later paintings. It's a reminder that art doesn't always have to be polished or refined. Sometimes, the most interesting things happen when we embrace the messy, imperfect nature of the creative process.