"Painting is liquid thinking." James Elkins

"Painting is liquid thinking." James Elkins

Sunday, March 9, 2014

Little Words

Cut It Out, 

Oh dear! I have never spent so much time worrying over so few words. They just won't arrive in any meaningful order so I forgo this assignment for musing on language.
Image and text have been a fascination of mine for decades. The question of which came first troubles me less that the curious difference in codification. One seems limited (words) in relation to the other (image). I know writers wouldn't agree.

Did the image become the word or did the word become an image?

Henri Michaux's small book Stroke by Stroke challenges this idea by rendering small strokes that morph between marks and images. They seem to reach for meaning through mark making, hovering between image and scribbling. I am drawn to that interface. So I made up drawings that look like writing with the intentionality of making unreadable writing, drawing that approximates writing. The image above is an example of a drawing  that came out of series about language that I revisit from time to time.It is clear polymer over a watercolor painting. I then cut out the negative space around the clear polymer.  I am not interested in answers in this work but rather in opening the space between the two forms of meaning. What could be in-between?

3 comments:

  1. I like the way your mind works - all interesting questions that deserve exploration - love the artwork - would love to see it in person/up close

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    1. Thank you for your kind remarks. I have one work in a group show at The Blue Mark Gallery in Atlanta. We will be doing an artist talk on March 16.

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  2. Maggie I really enjoy your resourcefulness and following the energy and where that energy takes you. Since I studied a number of languages and worked with internationals for more than 20 years, I am totally enamored by your questions about image and word. And even more...the puzzle that communication poses. What time is the talk on March 16th? Would love to make it but have a workshop in the morning and the C4 potluck from 4:00-6:00.

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