Hands of an Etcher 1932

Alma Lavenson made this photograph, "Hands of an Etcher," using gelatin silver print. The image invites us to consider the relationship between labor, artistic production, and the representation of the human body. Lavenson’s close-up on the etcher’s hands directs our attention to the physical act of creation. We can consider how the image creates meaning through visual codes, cultural references, and historical associations of labor. The photograph was made in the United States where the swell of industrial production helped define the period between the wars. We might also consider the institutional histories of art, and the divide between the fine and applied arts. The etcher’s hands suggest the importance of craft and skill in a world that was increasingly defined by mechanical reproduction. To understand the image better, we could study the history of printmaking and its relationship to social class and economic structures. We could also research the artist’s biography and the ways in which her own social and political beliefs might have influenced her artistic choices. In short, art is contingent on social and institutional contexts.