Letter "A" Possibly 1953

This is Gerd Arntz’s woodcut print, Letter “A”. Arntz was a German modernist artist, known for his sharp, graphic style developed during the Weimar Republic. His visual vocabulary was rooted in social and political activism. Notice the figure intertwined with the letter "A" and the tree bearing fruit. There's an undeniable allusion to the biblical story of Adam and Eve. But Arntz was a communist, and deeply critical of religion, so he’s not illustrating the story in a traditional way. He uses the narrative of original sin to ask us to contemplate the structures that shape our understanding of morality, knowledge and power. Arntz offers a radical reimagining of traditional narratives. Arntz's stark black-and-white aesthetic emphasizes a break from the past, urging us to critically examine the stories we inherit and the power dynamics they uphold.