Untitled (From Ten Winter Tools) 1973

Jim Dine made this print called "Untitled (From Ten Winter Tools)" in 1973. Look how he uses solid blacks and open lines to make these commonplace objects feel both familiar and strange. It’s like he’s saying, "Hey, art is just another tool!" I’m really drawn to the contrast between the precise outline of the wrench on the left, and the more gestural rendering of the other tool, maybe a clamp, on the right. You can almost see the movement of his hand as he built up the dark, velvety blacks, leaving these ghostly trails of ink. It reminds me that artmaking is a physical process, a dance between control and accident. I think Dine is reminding us that even something as simple as a tool can be a source of beauty and contemplation. It makes me think of Jasper Johns, who also used everyday objects in his art. Like Johns, Dine finds poetry in the mundane.