Untitled, Downtown, Manhattan c. 1928

John Marin made this drawing of downtown Manhattan using graphite on paper. It's a flurry of marks, a jumble of lines that somehow evoke the dynamism and chaos of the city. I can imagine Marin standing on a street corner, sketching rapidly, trying to capture the feeling of the city rather than a literal representation. The buildings seem to be tilting and swaying, and the lines vibrate with energy. Maybe he was thinking about how to show movement and change within a static medium. Look at how the lines overlap and intersect, creating a sense of depth and space. There's a real push and pull between representation and abstraction here. Artists like Marin were in conversation with the cubists and futurists of Europe, but they were also forging their own path, creating a distinctly American modernism. To me, this work is all about the energy and rhythm of urban life.