Girders 1986

Craig McPherson made this etching, *Girders*, by carefully marking a metal plate, probably with acid, and using ink to create a highly-detailed image of the city at night. Looking at this print, I imagine McPherson in his studio, the air thick with the smell of ink and acid, hunched over his work. See how the city is a backdrop of light and shadow? It's almost as though he’s right there in the middle of it all, transforming the cityscape into a dense network of marks and lines. I wonder if he felt like he was building something as he worked, each tiny scratch and careful wipe contributing to the whole. It's like he was trying to capture the emotional weight of the city, maybe even the feeling of being an artist trying to find your place within something so immense.