The Three Sydney Close Woodcuts 1983

Jim Dine made "The Three Sydney Close Woodcuts" using woodcut techniques, and what grabs me first is the raw immediacy of the marks. You can see the grain of the wood pushing back against the blade, turning resistance into expression. Look at the physicality here, the sheer force of the artist’s hand. This isn't just about depicting something; it's about the act of carving, cutting, wrestling with the material itself. The dark inks aren't shy; they’re bold, almost aggressive. The way the ink bleeds and pools in places tells you so much about process. See how the lines converge to form the hand itself? It’s like a map of the artist’s movements, a record of decisions made and remade. You think about early Expressionist woodcuts from artists like Kirchner or Heckel, who really dug into the wood. But Dine brings a Pop sensibility; there's something very American and in-your-face about it. Art is always a conversation. It's never really finished.