The Rock 2017

Eckart Hahn made this mixed media collage, “The Rock,” playing with layers and textures to conjure a monumental peak. It’s like Hahn is saying artmaking, like mountain climbing, is a step-by-step process, a journey of building and revealing. The material quality here is so interesting. Hahn uses torn paper edges to create a sense of depth and ruggedness, almost like geological strata. The way he layers the monochrome mountain against the pale background makes the image pop. Then there are these odd blue strips, like painter's tape, that disrupt the visual field and flatten the whole image out again. Look closely at the peak. See how the flag, so small, gives the entire composition a sense of scale, and suggests human ambition against the grandeur of nature? It’s funny and a little absurd. Think of David Hockney’s photo collages, another artist playing with perspective and materiality to question how we see. Ultimately, Hahn’s “The Rock” reminds us that art, like a mountain, can be both imposing and endlessly open to interpretation.