Bridge Over Brooklyn

New York-based artist Lothar Osterburg’s Bridge over Brooklyn is a much more nostalgic image than Craig McPherson’s haunting mezzotint of New York City, Yankee Stadium at Night. Osterburg began by building a miniature model, which he photographed through a magnifying lens. By etching this negative onto the printing plate using the 19th-century method of photogravure, he created this highly tonal image. Despite their differing, yet equally labor-intensive and retrospective intaglio processes, Osterburg and McPherson arrive at a similar place through their shared emphasis on palpable texture, the contrast between light and shade, and the powerful darkness of the city at night.