Die Stund des Abschieds

The first (and largest) linocut carving I made. It's purposefully evoking the stylings of German Expressionism. I was specifically inspired by the works of Kathe Kollwitz. At the same time, I put my own spin on it; the uncarved areas are pitch black, and purposefully a stark contrast to the rough and heavy carvings in white.

This piece is in reference to a student production of Bertolt Brecht's "Herr Puntila und Sein Knecht Matti" I took part in. By coincidence, another member of the cast had a fursona, and I decided to depict a scene of Brecht's play with our fursonas. The title, too, comes from the play, and means "The Hour of Farewell". It was the last printmaking I did for this printmaking class I was in, and also my final semester of undergraduate university, so it felt fitting. I also found it interesting to depict the very modern, internet-era 'furry art style' in a medium and art movement that long predates it.

Ultimately, this piece is both a personal celebration of taking part in this play, and also playing around with art across time. When putting on the play, we debated moving it to be set in modern times, but decided against it. "Herr Puntila" is very much a commentary on the issues Brecht saw plaguing the world: fascism, class disparity, and so on. These issues persist to today, and we said as such in the opening of the play. This piece, then, is meant to combine that with the modern furry art scene. My goal isn't to claim that furries are somehow anti-fascist; just to juxtapose things, play around, and get messy.