Page 40 - Studio International - December 1969

Sol LeWitt drawings 1968-1969

When Sol LeWitt published 'Drawing Series Fine. But LeWitt's drawing ideas, like all
1968 (Fours)' in Studio International in April ideas, make themselves manifest in particular
1969, I was probably not alone in not under- aspects of the physical world : in his case, pre-
standing it. It was elucidatory documenta- dominantly on walls and pages. This material
tion of a particular serial idea which under- context selection seems congruous not only
lined his recent exhibition/manifestation acti- with the notion of 'drawing', but also to the
vity and future plans. But without more direct relations with architectural thought and the
information (even through the intermediary additive time sequence of 'reading' in Le-
of photographs), it was difficult to comprehend Witt's earlier work.3 But just as no figural
concretely what he was on about; now it image relating to particular buildings could
becomes more clear. The idea of the drawing be interpolated from his structures, 'reading'
series itself is, and was, classifiable as 'con- a LeWitt is structurally interesting in itself,
ceptual art'; a complete pattern/structure of abstracted from any overriding sensory repre-
thought about (and through) the notion of sentation or interpretation. It's like the con-
`drawing' : an activity with a particular 'art' cern with braccia, feet, or metres rather than
tradition. The notion of 'drawing' as simply St Peter's versus the Seagram Building; it's
based upon 'the four absolute directions of like reading adding-machine columns rather
line' with all subsequent variations congru- than algebraic equations, Nabokov not Hardy,
ously respecting the integrity of this notion Pound not Apollinaire : hearing Bach, not ated by four directions of line. These four
by regular superimpositions, combinations, Brahms. types of lines are similarly treated : parallel
and permutations—is quite a contribution to This characterization gets involved with what (conceptually infinite), regular in separation
the 'history of drawing' (if such a thing exists). Carl Andre has noted as the 'quantitative' interval, and 'absolute' by equal degree of
And focusing on 'drawing' as a respectable rather than 'qualitative' basis of today's most differentiation in relation to themselves. And
physical vehicle for artistic activity/thought is interesting art. Quantitative notions certainly of course it is this constant differentiation of
thoroughly congruous with LeWitt's present underline LeWitt's 'Fours' series. The basic individual square areas by linear direction
context.' With an interest in 'drawing' ab- format is that of squares-squared-squared : an and their combinations which leads one to
stracted from any particular object, it is small idea both tautological and infinitely open- count, and to try to determine directional
wonder that for LeWitt there is no pre- ended, imbued with the pre-Euclidian wonder sequence and over-all organization of the
ordained hierarchy among working drawings, at the human construct of 'number' as virtu- drawings' ostensibly inert 'composition'.
printed drawings (on pages of books, maga- ally synonomous with `measure'.4 The com- There is a parallel irony in the systematic
zines, catalogues), wall-drawings, or plan- plexity of thoughts obtained by this concept- method which LeWitt used to determine the
drawings —documentary schema rendered after formation is fantastic in varied repetition and over-all organization of both all and indiv-
the completion of an exploratory thought pseudo-redundancies; equal four-sided, four- dual drawings in this series. He selected four
process. 'The work is the manifestation of an cornered areas are expanded to their fourth ordering processes in two versions which act
idea. It is an idea and not an object.' 2 `power' by grouping into fours and differenti- as primal unit (single line) and infinite series