I was working on These Decisions Can Wait #1 when the Boston Marathon bombing occured. I abruptly ended the line and left to watch the news.
I hesitate to write this post, as I don’t want to imply that this drawing is about the bombing. I think of it as containing an obscure acknowledgement of the event. Without minimizing the tragedy of that day, I prefer to use its relationship with my drawing to talk about time as a concept in art.
When I went back to work on the drawing the next day there was a reminder of precisely (to the point) where I was and what I was thinking when the bombs went off. I decided not to resume the line where I left off. I left a blank section as a quiet high water mark of the event.
Time ends up being an accidental concept. The lines in the drawing can be visual representations of a linear movement of time. The disruption in the line highlights the discontinuity of time. The left of the drawing happened before, the right side after. The break in the line that separates these sections is the point where many peoples’ realities synched. The event transcends peoples’ proximity and is an experience that people share because we were together in experiencing that event, not physically but when it happened.
Without meaning or representation, I intend for these drawings to exist outside of a specific time or context. Despite my intent, this one shows that it’s still impacted by outside events occuring during its creation. I realize that the fluid and organic process of creating them makes a drawn line not only vulnerable to my hand but also to a terrible event. It’s interesting reevaluating a piece and seeing its interaction with life rather than as a detached object. I remain alert to seeing what events (hopefully less dreaded than an act of terror) these drawings can discreetly contain in the future.
Yours in the event horizon,
MC