Antelope Priest 1961

Frederick O'Hara’s "Antelope Priest" looks like it was made with a printmaking technique, maybe a woodcut or linocut. The artist applies the marks in a very specific way. Like they are building up from simple shapes, it reminds me of how kids approach image-making. The texture of the piece is something that really grabs you, doesn't it? Look at the figure of the priest, constructed from these stippled areas of gray and white, which create a mottled surface. The choice to fragment the figure into segments adds to the mystery, it could be a body or a landscape. What is so interesting about the printmaking process is this act of creating an image in reverse. The artist carves away at the surface, then covers the remaining surface in ink. It is an art that embraces the potential for accidents and unexpected results, which is, in many ways, what painting is all about. It makes me think of Terry Winters who also had a deep interest in exploring the processes of image making.