Untitled 1943

This untitled cartoon by Kukryniksy uses black ink to sardonic effect. It’s a stark image, where the process feels direct, immediate. The hatching builds up a claustrophobic sense of dread. I keep getting drawn to the figure leaning casually against the post, smoking. A rope dangles from his hand, mirroring the suspended figures. There’s a visual echo there, that makes the whole scene ripple with dark humour. It's a loaded kind of looking. There’s something of Grosz in the air here, that same pointedness. But where Grosz uses a furious energy, here the tone is one of resignation. It’s about finding ways to confront the unspeakable. Art becomes an ongoing conversation, a way to keep talking, even when words fail. Art is never about easy answers, more about holding onto a question.