Out West 1912

Jerome Blum made this etching called 'Out West' in Arizona, back in 1912. It's all about the marks, isn't it? A thicket of short, sharp scratches that describe the figures, and the light that's spilling in from somewhere beyond the frame. You get the sense that Blum is thinking, reacting, making it up as he goes along. Look at the floor, how it's built from these dense, parallel lines. It’s like the space is alive, vibrating with energy. And the way the figures are emerging from the doorway, almost like ghosts. The whole image feels like a fleeting moment, a glimpse into another world, like a dream. Blum reminds me of someone like Käthe Kollwitz, who used printmaking to explore themes of social justice and human suffering. Like Kollwitz, Blum embraces the power of the imperfect, the unfinished, the raw emotion that comes from letting the process lead the way. Art is a conversation, an ongoing dialogue across time and space, and it's never really finished, is it?