The Influence of the Moon 1950

Karl Schrag created ‘The Influence of the Moon’ using etching, a printmaking technique that requires considerable skill and a bit of brute force. Schrag would have started by covering a metal plate with a waxy, acid-resistant ground. Then, using a sharp needle, he would have scratched his design into the ground, exposing the metal below. The plate was then submerged in acid, which bit into the exposed lines, creating grooves. Ink is then applied into these grooves, the surface wiped clean, and the image transferred to paper under high pressure using a printing press. Notice how the etched lines define every element, from the moon’s glow to the textured landscape below, and even the sky. The materiality of the printmaking process—the acid’s bite, the press’s pressure—all contribute to the print’s evocative atmosphere. The way the ink sits on the paper gives depth and texture to the final image. Schrag’s choice of etching elevates a process usually associated with commercial reproduction to high art. It asks us to consider the value of skilled hand work in a world increasingly dominated by mechanized production.