Old Million Eyes 1909

Joseph Pennell made this etching, Old Million Eyes, and the title alone suggests a sense of wonder or dread. The mark-making is so delicate, like whispers on paper, and those closely-packed lines feel like a slow, intentional dance, building something monumental out of almost nothing. What strikes me is the contrast between the industrial architecture and the natural forms. The buildings climb the hill like a rigid, geometric echo of the mountain itself, yet the marks feel handmade, even tentative. Look at the swirling lines that form the sky. They're like a counterpoint to the rigid geometry of the buildings, softening the scene with a touch of the sublime. This print reminds me of Piranesi’s architectural fantasies, but with a distinctly American, industrial edge. It's about the poetry and the terror of progress, I think, and how we find ourselves caught between the two. Pennell shows us that even in the most mechanical of subjects, the human touch can still make things sing.