The Street 1961

Sid Hammer made this etching called 'The Street,' probably in the 1960s. Just imagine him, acid-biting at a metal plate to produce this high-contrast image, a worm's-eye view of an urban canyon. I wonder, was Hammer thinking about Piranesi's monumental prints of Rome while making this? There's something of the same claustrophobia, the sense of being dwarfed by immense architecture. Look at the way the lines swarm across the facades of the buildings, creating a kind of vibrating texture. I bet he was super focused and meditative as he worked on this. I'm always excited by artists who take these kinds of urban, everyday subjects and turn them into something monumental and uncanny. It's a reminder that even in the most familiar places, there's always something strange and new to discover.