Whence & Whither?

Cyril E. Power

ca. 1930 · Linocut on Japanese paper · Drawings and Prints

In "Whence & Whither?," Power portrays a seemingly endless line of faceless commuters as they descend underground on an escalator to catch the London subway, or Tube, at rush hour. He layered flat planes of bold, often contrasting colors, and used curvilinear and concentric lines, jutting diagonals, and sharp edges to represent positive aspects of modernity (such as speed and efficiency, the intermingling of classes and genders in urban centers) as well the negative (such as feelings of alienation and reification). Power made numerous sketches of passengers, one of which includes the caption "THE ROBOTTOMLESS PIT, HOMO MECHANIENS." He carved the design for Whence & Whither? into four linoleum blocks, each corresponding to specific colors and compositional elements. To expand his palette, he layered impressions from different blocks and altered the amount of pressure applied.

Artist

Cyril E. Power

Date

ca. 1930

Medium

Linocut on Japanese paper

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Purchase, Leslie and Johanna Garfield Gift, Lila Acheson Wallace, Charles and Jessie Price, and David T Schiff Gifts, The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, Dolores Valvidia Hurlburt Bequest, Peco Foundation and Friends of Drawings and Prints Gifts, and funds from various donors, 2019