They Run 1964

Sid Hammer made this etching titled 'They Run' in 1964. It's all about the process, the way the lines swarm across the paper, almost like a nervous energy made visible. Up close, you can see how the ink isn’t just laid down; it’s almost scratched and scraped, giving the piece a raw, immediate feel. The figures are just barely there. Look at the way the legs dissolve into a series of lines, how the background melts into the bodies. It’s like the act of running is so all-consuming that everything else fades away. It's not about the perfect form or the right proportions. Instead, it's more about capturing the feeling of movement, of being caught in the act. There's something about this that reminds me of Giacometti’s figures, all stretched and elongated, but Hammer's work has this frantic quality that's all its own. It leaves you with more questions than answers, which, in my book, is what good art should do.