Sleeping Polar Bear Analysis

Richard Bosman created an woodcut called the Polar Bear II in 1981, and then thirteen years later, another polar bear image was engraved by Joseph Hecht, called the Sleeping Polar Bear. In Hecht’s engraving, he created an every minimal piece, while Boseman created a very detailed piece. Although both artists used a similar subject matter, polar bears, they each created an image which related it own story by their methods, materials, and treatments of each of the pieces.

Boseman evokes a nightmarish look to his image with white lines on a black background, and a mostly obscured mountain scene with the bear covering most of the image. He also used the nonsensical to create the mood with a man entering the bear’s mouth with a paddle. Why a paddle, and why is he entering the monster’s mouth? The bear’s tongue seems to almost to become part of the watery base of the image. The artist also created an aged texture to the woodcut by using a homemade paper, which allows for texture, but also wood flecks to remain on the paper giving organic feeling.

In contrast, Hecht’s Sleeping Polar Bear is so innocent looking with simple lines and conveys a sense comfort thought the treatment of the bear. The polar bear is the only

It shows the views to the bears of whether they are cruel or are they innocent and sweet. Has man caused the mistrust as maybe Bosman’s imagery seems to show or are we in harmony as long as we respect each other. In Hecht’s image, the viewers are not told to run, but to stay. There is respect. This is unlike to Boseman were a bear allows the man into its mouth, but the bear seems to say the he will not be coming out. Boseman achieved his darkness by allowing the white of the image to be the line, and he used quite a bit of detail. Hecht instead used minimal lines and had white as the backdrop but also the only other