Inspired by slow-burning anger at the seemingly incurable inhumanity of man, and of his countrymen in particular, Frank Boyden set out to portray, in a series of drypoints, 'man-unkind' at his most hideous. . . . Moved by anger, yet led by the exigencies of an exacting and unforgiving medium, Frank soon forgot the ax he'd set out to grind, lost himself in the making of each image, and was gradually moved, by his own admission, from anger into feelings of empathy toward the monstrous characters he was depicting. . . . Via the magic of concentration and self-effacement, art itself created ninety-six paradoxically beautiful images of ugliness, against the artist's initial will.David James Duncan This volume reproduces the complete suite of 96 drypoints in actual size (2 by 3 inches), together with an essay and notes by the artist, companion prose by Kim Stafford and David James Duncan, and a discussion between the artist, Julia D'Amario, Tom Prochaska, and Prudence Roberts.