Fulton Market Docks, N.Y. 1931

This etching by William Charles McNulty presents us with the Fulton Market Docks in New York. Dominating the skyline, skyscrapers rise like modern-day cathedrals, symbols of human ambition and progress. These towers evoke not only economic power but also a reaching towards the heavens. Consider the tower, a symbol stretching back to the Tower of Babel. Here in McNulty's New York, this motif is reborn. The skyscraper as ziggurat: a testament to human hubris and aspiration. There's a subtle, underlying tension in the upward thrust of the buildings juxtaposed with the dense, almost chaotic activity at the docks below. It reminds us of the timeless human drama between aspiration and reality. The ceaseless striving for something beyond our grasp. The image engages with the collective memory of urban growth and the psychological impact of monumental architecture. A powerful force engaging viewers on a deep, subconscious level.