MACKA (When Unmasked) 1962

Alexander Zhitomirsky made this harrowing image, MACKA (When Unmasked), sometime in the 20th century using what looks like a monochrome printmaking process. It’s a powerful piece, starkly rendered, playing with contrasts of light and shadow to expose the true face beneath a mask. Look closely at the texture. The artist coaxes so much detail from what seems like very little. Notice the face, with its almost satirical expression of mild bemusement. The transition from flesh to bone is so stark. I’m thinking about the way one image is laid over another, printed on top, in the tradition of photomontage. The way Zhitomirsky uses a black and white palette reminds me a bit of Goya’s etchings. There is a similar quality in the intensity of expression and the critical commentary of socio-political events. Like all good art, this print poses uncomfortable questions and resists easy answers.