An artist’s idea, LeWitt noted in his landmark “Paragraphs on Conceptual Art” (1967), becomes “the machine that makes the art.” Once the idea is set in motion, “the fewer decisions made in the course of completing the work, the better.” The idea behind Curvy Brushstrokes I was to overlay curvy brushstrokes in blue, red, yellow, and gray. The first proofs were inked using black so that LeWitt could evaluate the quality of the curving strokes alone. In working proof 6 he introduced a gray background, but in the final print he opted for the brilliance of the white paper.
Sol Lewitt
Sol LeWitt working at Crown Point Press,
photograph by Kathan Brown, Courtesy
Crown Point Press
Inked plates used to print LeWitt's Curvy Brushstrokes I, photograph by Kathan Brown, Courtesy Crown Point Press
Banner image: Detail, Mamma Andersson, Room Under the Influence, 2008, color spitbite aquatint, sugarlift aquatint, aquatint, and softground etching, Gift of Kathan Brown, Crown Point Press, © Mamma Andersson
"Yes, No, Maybe: The Art of Making
Decisions," lecture by exhibition curators Judith Brodie and Adam Greenhalgh (audio)
Julie Mehretu, artist, in conversation with curator Judith Brodie, Diamonstein-Spielvogel lecture (audio)
"An Insider's Perspective," lecture by Kathan Brown, founder of Crown Point Press (audio)
Exhibition tour by curators Judith Brodie and Adam Greenhalgh (audio)