Page 126 - The 70s - ABC of the material

result. That probing for instance: how does it on the limited format of the paper that the
look if I, starting from a certain design, apply
changes all the time, you will also find at this
exhibition. She neither commits to a style nor to
a form of aesthetics. It looks more as if she also
is curious herself of the result, the image of her
ideas.
This time it’s about the relation between a
drawn black line and an equally long limp
line, a black wire, fixed in mirror image. She
expands this in very simple elementary figures
like a square, a straight line, a rectangle or a
triangle. Opposite the rigid figure she shows
the informal free form of the dangling wire that,
relative to the drawn lines, is fixed with a piece
of tape. These are playful viewing exercises she
also undertakes with her students of the AKI in
Enschede.
Next to this informal work there are also shown
sheets of graphical work by the American
Richard Tuttle. The drawings look watercolour-
like and are made up of colour layers. It is a
very attractive series of random characters that
resemble a secret alphabet.
Lili van Ginniken
De Volkskrant, November 13th, 1976
page 75
Letter to Coosje
Dear Coosje,
The last series of drawings from ‘78 – ‘79 of
which you have the circle originated from the
experience of when you put a line on paper
that you do not escape from it that such a line
always produces a monumental form on paper
and that this monumental form and the line are
in no relation to the paper.
Moreover I wanted each line to have his own
area and together with the other separate areas
to become a unity again.
On top of that I did not want to be dependent
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shopkeeper could supply.
By combining areas of different dimensions I got
a larger area than I originally had on each plane.
On each plane I put a diagonal since with the
horizontals and verticals of the plane that was
the only direction lacking.
The result is a trapezoidal segment that relates
to the total plane and the individual planes
but that as a form or figure functioned so
monumentally that it became too much a form in
itself and too isolated.
The next step was to draw a line that did keep
its coherence and unity and its own direction but
that did not directly cause a form.
A balance between openness and closeness.
Then I did a number of experiments with putting
a line on wrinkled paper to find out to what
extent such a line despite the interruptions did
still connected to each other and also which
paper was most suited for that and which type
of material was suited best for the line.
Eventually I choose Japanese rice paper without
structure because it is slightly transparent
and has a little bit of a rough surface in which
the graphite penetrates well and is also easily
squeezed smooth with a visually not obtrusive
retention of the procedure that has been
followed.
Now afterwards I find that I apart from the
material and the actions the fact that I did break
through the static of a form with maintaining of
the form the most important step.
In between two materials
In between plane and line
Maria van Elk, November 19th, 1979
page 78
Fragments of thought, letter from
Coosje to Maria, 25 October 1978
(…) Here a few fragments of thought as a
result of notes made during our conversation in
December 1977.