N.Y.C City Scene 

John Marin made this drawing of a New York City scene using graphite on paper. Graphite, in its powdered form, is the basic stuff of industry, used as a lubricant to ease friction. Here, though, it’s been pressed into a rod and used to generate an image, albeit a rather unpolished one. Notice how the quick, light strokes capture the dynamism of the city, with buildings, scaffolding, and figures rendered in a loose, almost chaotic manner. The texture of the paper is integral to the work; the graphite catches on its surface, creating a sense of immediacy. The rapid marks describe the accelerated rhythms of modern urban life, including the labor involved in its endless construction and reconstruction. Marin seems to be asking what it means to make a drawing in an age of mass production. He suggests that the artist's hand can still find a place amidst the steel and stone of modernity, bearing witness to the changing face of the city and the lives of those who built it.