Kansas Pastoral c. 1940

Archie Musick made this print, "Kansas Pastoral," and I like the way he uses line to capture a place and a mood. It reminds me that artmaking is often a process of trying to capture something fleeting. Look at how Musick varies the pressure of his pencil to create different textures. See the dense, almost scribbled lines in the foliage versus the delicate, light strokes that define the sky? He uses the physicality of the medium to evoke the ruggedness of the landscape. The man riding the donkey has a soft, almost anonymous presence in comparison to the bold and busy landscape, like a memory half-forgotten. It makes me think of other regionalist artists, maybe someone like Thomas Hart Benton, who were also interested in depicting everyday life in America. But Musick brings his own sense of play to it. He reminds us that art is an ongoing conversation, full of echoes and variations.