Mountain Rapids 1924

Curator: Paul Kleinschmidt's 1924 ink drawing and print, “Mountain Rapids,” really zings with an energetic vision. Editor: Zing is right! It hits you like a splash of icy water. So economical with line, yet you feel the chaotic power of the water, doesn’t overwhelm but sure captures what I remember from seeing the Bavarian Alps Curator: Precisely! Note the expressive quality of the stark black ink on the page, depicting, trees, rock faces rendered with angular precision. The lines surge across the composition. It is, technically speaking, expressionistic. Editor: Those whirling pools at the bottom pull my eye right in— like little vortexes threatening to suck you under. It also almost creates movement like waves lapping around you if you're really close to the water and maybe just a teensy bit scared of open bodies of water? That almost sinister water is framed between hard edges, sharp cliff faces and more comforting tree outlines. Curator: Indeed, that tension is palpable. Look at how Kleinschmidt manipulates the texture, almost blurring the boundaries between solid forms and fluid movement. One could suggest the artist is representing modernity as the solid melts into air! Editor: That makes me think. Given the Expressionist approach, I almost wonder if he aimed for raw feeling over pure representation here? That visceral feel of nature is front and center! Curator: Without a doubt. A formal landscape sketch metamorphosed into something…emotional. I agree I feel the emotional content from my visceral reaction to viewing the landscape Editor: Well, I for one, appreciate that Mr. Kleinschmidt isn't afraid of a little dramatic license. Gives this humble ink drawing a wallop of impact! Curator: Exactly, leaving us with a sense of wonder at the powerful essence of raw naturalism in such elemental mediums.