Lena 1914 - 1936

Curator: Allow me to introduce "Lena," a captivating linocut print by Ger Ladage, created sometime between 1914 and 1936. Editor: It's giving me serious gothic vibes, like a cloaked figure emerging from a haunted forest! The sharp lines and dark palette…are we sure this wasn’t for a silent horror film poster? Curator: Well, Ladage's artistic career did unfold during a period of intense social and political upheaval. This print is expressionistic; it channels anxieties about modernization. Editor: That explains the claustrophobic feel of the piece. There is almost a tangle of emotions or memories trapped within this one figure. The limited color palette almost intensifies that effect. Curator: Precisely. The deliberate use of the linocut technique, with its bold lines and stark contrasts, underscores the feeling of tension. Woodcuts like this were increasingly important during this era. Editor: Do you think “Lena” refers to a specific person or if she is representative of someone else? Curator: Good question. It may represent Ladage's emotional world in response to societal anxieties during the first World War, especially from an artist marginalized for their artistic styles and, very often, for other characteristics. Editor: It really brings to mind Käthe Kollwitz and her anguished mothers, almost as if Lena is their forgotten sister, lurking in the shadows. Curator: The composition also brings into mind other German Expressionist works from the same period and circles. These print works, along with being cheap, democratized art for a much wider public and enabled the wide transmission of avantgarde ideologies. Editor: Knowing that changes everything. It is no longer just about personal pain; it’s about shared experience of a population. Ladage seems to capture it beautifully. Curator: This has given me a new appreciation for Ladage’s use of light and shadow. It amplifies the work's capacity to affect its viewers across the different historical landscapes, like our current day. Editor: Exactly. As for me, I came into this thinking ‘haunted house’ but now I think of this piece as a striking portrait of strength and resistance. Amazing!