Myth and Homage: Merz in the field
Merz spent a day in a field, drawing just one image of the grass. I’ve re-enacted this with a view to create a personal ritual and homage. Merz fell upon a personal discovery that day: that ‘art was the message’.
Using 80+ colour photos of a patch of grass from a field, 10 X 15cm, I wanted to find my own message using similar restrictions: the continuous line, isolation and ‘being in the world’. I wanted to find out something for myself, to experience how he felt. Drawing alone, as he did, I found that I was looking for a way to connect with drawing again in my practice.
I have found that restriction and self imposed rules have given me the most fertile ground to engage with drawing again. I have also found that I have a bold, scribbly line.
The most spontaneous approaches created the most interesting marks/ responses. A continuous line on a small space requires a certain amount of determination and concentration, but I managed to draw without thinking, with an empty mind. Each line is connected, no line exists in isolation but in direct relation to another. When the pen left the page, the drawing was over.
A crucial point came when I hit my reserves, and in danger of repeating previous drawings and becoming too self aware of mark making. This is when I made some interesting work, after I had churned out the rubbish! These drawings have been a process. I’m thinking about how they could be useful.
