Untitled (Blatt VIII) 1922

Hans Brass made this etching, sometime around 1922. It's a real tangle of lines, a kind of dark geometric puzzle, but there are figures lurking in there too. Look how Brass creates depth, building up the darkness with these tiny hatched lines. It's so methodical, almost obsessive. It gives the whole image this kind of nervous energy, like it's vibrating on the paper. I keep thinking about that face on the left side; it’s staring right out at you with these intense, dark eyes. You can almost feel the weight of the ink, the pressure of the plate on the paper. This piece reminds me a little of Kathe Kollwitz, especially in the way she uses line to convey deep emotion. Ultimately, this is a piece that invites you to get lost in its details.