American History Prints > Almanack (In Progress)

EARTHQUAKE
EARTHQUAKE
Watercolor woodblock print with stencils
38" x 26" (97 x 67 cm)

An earthquake is caused by means of wind that be enclosed within the caves of the earth and can find no passage to break forth.
– The New Book of Knowledge (1767)

A woodcut I found at American Antiquarian Society, said to be an illustration of the Boston earthquake of 1727, is combined with petroglyphs from Utah and hand prints such as are found in caves all over the world. History lives in layers under our feet, it courses through our blood, and it is present in our thoughts and conceptions of the world. Sometimes history haunts us. Sometimes history rises up seeking justice. These little Puritans can feel the quake, but seem unaware of exactly what it is that's shaking their world so.