Dream 1936 - 1937

Cyprián Majerník made this drawing, “Dream,” using dark ink to forge a surreal scene. I imagine him hunched over a table, letting his pen wander across the page. There are dark, looping lines and marks, frantically scribbled in a concentrated state. The texture feels restless and unnerving, and the figures are distorted, almost grotesque. I sympathize with Majerník. Perhaps he made this in a period of deep uncertainty; the kind of feeling that comes with the unknown. I like to think about the connection between line and emotion. There is an intentionality in the way Majerník has drawn each line, one on top of another, in order to build a feeling of uncertainty and entrapment. What would it have been like to make this? What was he trying to express? There is something about the rawness that makes this work unique. I believe that painting and drawing is an ongoing conversation, and artists constantly borrow ideas and inspiration from one another. Just as there is no right or wrong way to paint, similarly there is no one way to read this image, as it’s ultimately up to the viewer to come up with their own interpretation.