Christl Watching (Menschen am Sonntag) #1

Matt Saunders frequently works from film stills, and the German silent film Menschen am Sonntag has inspired a number his printmaking projects. The film classic about a group of young people spending a summer day by a Berlin lake follows their interactions, flirtations and episodes of petty jealousy. The frame Saunders chose for his print depicts Christl isolated from the rest of the cast. Her expression is unreadable; her focused stare testifies to her strong emotional involvement, but is hard to read. The object of her gaze is outside the frame, the viewer is unable to tell what may have provoked such a state of physical and emotional alert.