Thinking about Huckenpahler
While walking through the Dutch show at the Portland Museum in Oregon, I came across this small 5x7ish etching by Rembrandt, "Self portrait at a window", from 1638. It is mesmerising. The lines are compact, but they leap out at you, the scratchiness of the mark making somehow does not indicate a searching action, but more of a excavation. The intensity of Rembrandt's etched gaze, looking out towards the viewer, seems filled with forthrightness. The act of this particular gaze seems to challenge the viewer. It becomes that much more remarkable when you consider that Rembrandt is not looking at you the viewer, he is looking at a mirror, he is studying not you the viewer, but himself. While this washed around my head, it occurred to me that the lines and the contrasts of blacks and whites that notated the space and gave form to this remarkable etching, reminded me of Huckenpahler's newer pieces. And while James is not looking in a mirror persay, he is studying a reflective computer screen.
