More Time for Hobbs

         This weekend I did get to go to the Harvard Art Museums to see the series of monumental wood block prints by LaToya M. Hobbs, and I’m so glad I did!  The intense impact of 5 prints, each 8 feet tall by 12 feet wide, is not something you can get from viewing on a screen.  Still, I’ll share just a little more about it here, because that’s better than nothing.  First, you can reread the original post Carving Out Time, to see the introduction to this series of wood block prints.

        To follow up on my own question about the works of art that are referenced in this series, the exhibit display gave the answer: these pieces are influences rather than actual possessions in Hobbs’s house.  All the references were listed with their sources, which was helpful and interesting.  It also informed me that among the references is a painting by Hobbs’s husband Ariston Jacks, who’s also an artist.  (Plus fantastic drawings by each of her two sons, although I’d guessed those!)  These all appear in panel 4.  I also learned from the display that these pieces were printed by Big Ink, a group which often uses a road roller to print such big pieces.  The physical ability and expertise to print such large blocks is an impressive achievement in its own right.

        Another fun thing was being able to get up close and see the textures and patterns of the gouges.  Here’s a close-up of what is probably about 12x18 inches of panel 3.  You can see the balance between not really being super detailed, yet having everything necessary to make the image pop into existence.  Hobbs uses speckles for the carpet, crosshatches for the chair upholstery, scanty outlines for the table legs, and slightly thicker gouges for glints of light.  Elsewhere she uses all-over lines for plain walls, and large areas of black with few lines for hardwood floor.

        I’m gushing about the carving, but what I love most of all about this series is the subject.  Not surprisingly, the depiction of an artist embedded in her life and family is something that really resonates with me.  I’ve included details today of some of my favorite parts: working with one son at the computer, perhaps warning him he’s had enough screen time and it’s time to get off.  And then there’s the bedtime story, which was one of my absolute favorite parts of motherhood.  (Perhaps today it’s particularly fitting that I enjoy Hobbs’s depiction of her time juggling life with her young children, since as of this morning my own nest is officially empty!)

[Pictures: details from Carving Out Time, five woodcuts by LaToya M. Hobbs, 2020-21.  (Photos by AEGNydam, but visit the artist’s web site latoyamhobbs.com)]