Bill Martin-Janet Doub

The exhibit of prints by two local artists at the Behn-Moore Gallery reflects some of the developments taking place in the print medium. The influence of painters, more and more of whom are devoting themselves to this medium, is felt in the trend of contemporary prints to rival paintings in their size and use of color. In this connection, some of Bill Martin's expressionistic woodcuts are even larger than average canvases.

Usually the reaction to large prints is the complaint that they suffer from broader and coarser workmanship. Martin has tried to solve this problem technically as well as artistically. Instead of transferring a preliminary drawing to the block, he does a few sketches on paper and then works primarily on the wood. As a result of greater honesty to the medium, he seems to gain in mastery of space and texture, as well as in freedom. Swinging lines and the very alive look of the "Lute Player" are characteristic qualities of his work.

Martin's technique grows out of his unusual ideas about the print. He feels the block itself is the important thing. As wood sculpture, his woodcuts become more controversial, but this may be a significant departure into a twilight zone between woodcuts and sculpture. Color is not emphasized in Martin's prints. Conventional black and white dominate, except in "Cathedral," which gives some idea of what a colored woodblock looks like.

While Martin is concerned on the whole with design rather than any particular social message, some of his prints like the symbolic "U. N. 1953" indicate an incisive social conscience.

The work of Janet Doub included in this exhibit contrasts a feminine concern for detail with Martin's bold masculinity. This is especially evident in her drawings, which are well executed, orderly and sensitive. Several of these take as their subject the interior of Miss Doub's living quarters, a preoccupation she shares with Van Gogh and Matisse.

Miss Doub designs block printed fabrics for a Boston concern, samples of which are on view. The patterns are abstract and non-repetitive. Although they are handsome, one would hardly characterize them as unusual. This criticism carries over to her linoleum prints. There is no doubt of Miss Doub's technical skill, but, with the exception of some interesting experiments with fading colors, her prints are rather cold and unexpressive.