Disaster c. 1935 - 1943

Editor: This is Donato Rico’s print, "Disaster," created somewhere between 1935 and 1943. The sharp contrast between light and shadow really strikes me – it gives the whole scene an anxious, almost frantic energy. What do you make of this piece? Curator: Anxious is a great word. The print is an exploration of trauma. Note how Rico contrasts the raw, almost primal, figures with the geometric precision of the industrial buildings in the background. Do you notice the expressions? Editor: Definitely! They're almost caricatures, pushed to an extreme. Especially the central figure with his mouth agape. It feels performative somehow. Curator: Indeed. There's a theatricality, like a Greek tragedy unfolding. The stylized forms lean into that exaggeration we find in Expressionism. What's more, the artist’s use of heavy linework evokes the woodcuts of artists grappling with social realities. Does that evoke any ideas in you? Editor: I hadn’t thought of that! Maybe this is commenting on industrial disasters… like a mining accident? Something that leaves lasting wounds on both people and landscape? Curator: Precisely. It's haunting, isn’t it? The scene becomes an elegy, echoing societal tremors while questioning our future, perhaps. Editor: I agree, seeing that context changes my understanding. At first glance, I only saw the surface-level chaos. Now it's resonating much deeper. Curator: Exactly! Art expands our horizons, so what's to be expected other than getting our mind wonderfully blown, hey? It makes you question everything!