33rd St & 6th Ave, N.Y.C. 1925

Gottlob Briem made this print of 33rd St & 6th Ave in New York City using etching, a process of scratching into a metal plate, inking it, and then pressing it onto paper. Looking at this print, you can almost feel the city's pulse. The towering buildings, the elevated train tracks, and the bustling crowds. There's a real sense of depth here, but also a flatness, like the artist is wrestling with how to represent the overwhelming scale and energy of urban life. I imagine Briem wandering through the streets, sketchbook in hand, trying to capture the essence of the city in a few well-placed lines. I see a connection between this kind of urban landscape and some of the more abstract work being made at the time. Both are about trying to make sense of a world that feels increasingly chaotic and overwhelming. You can feel a sympathy for artists who chose to depict the world around them in a way that felt true to their own experience. We all draw inspiration from each other.