State Fair 1948

Stevan Dohanos made this print, called State Fair, by cutting into a block of wood – probably maple or cherry. The areas he cut away would have remained white, while the raised areas took the ink. The image's power lies in its texture: the precise, almost granular quality of the wood, registered as tone. Look closely, and you'll see that Dohanos used a variety of marks, cross-hatching, parallel lines, and stippling, to create a rich visual field. The hard work of carving such detail is intrinsic to the print’s effect. The result is a snapshot of Americana, with a prize-winning bull at a rural fair. This subject matter might seem a world away from the concerns of modern art. But Dohanos was tapping into a populist sensibility, much like Thomas Hart Benton or Grant Wood. He presents honest labor and the pride of the American heartland. His printmaking technique honors this sentiment, elevating a humble material to high art.