Untitled (Girl, Dog, Steamroller) c. 1938

Emil Armin made this black and white woodcut print of a girl, a dog, and a steamroller. The graphic nature of the print, with its contrasting black and white, gives it an almost ominous feel, like a still from a silent film. Check out the bottom right corner, you’ll see how Armin carved into the block to create zig-zagging lines, adding texture and depth to the surface. It’s a simple technique, but it effectively suggests the unevenness of the ground. I also like the use of line in the smoke curling out from the steamroller – it looks more like a decorative flourish than smoke. The flatness and graphic quality of the print remind me of other early twentieth-century printmakers like Max Beckmann. But while Beckmann often dealt with heavy, existential themes, Armin’s work feels more like a playful observation of the everyday. Both artists remind us that art is not about representing reality, but about creating new ways of seeing it.