Joseph and His Brothers XII 1966

This print, 'Joseph and His Brothers XII' by Peter Lipman-Wulf, pulls you in with its dreamy quality and curious combination of image and text. The printmaking process itself seems central here; the whole image is bathed in a pale teal which makes the lines appear almost etched into the surface, as if conjured from a dream. The left side shows birds descending on a basket of bread, the lines used to depict them are scratchy and energetic. It's kind of violent, kind of beautiful, how they're drawn. The words on the right are laid out like verses of poetry. "The Baker's dream / of soaring birds / picking viciously." Each word feels carefully chosen. It reminds me of the work of Kiki Smith, who also uses storytelling and imagery in unexpected ways. But, ultimately, like all good art, it remains open to interpretation. What do you see in it?