Untitled 1-17-71 [study for "tattoo" book] 1971

James McCracken Jr. made this ink drawing on paper, Untitled 1-17-71, and wow, what a page of glyphs. Looking at this, I can imagine McCracken’s hand moving across the page, each mark a little experiment in seeing what a symbol could do. I mean, look at that snake slithering above a disembodied mouth – is it a comment on language, temptation, or something else entirely? Each object is rendered in stark black ink, isolated, yet they collectively form a constellation of meanings. It's funny, it reminds me of Guston's later works and his lexicon of shapes, but also of the way Twombly scrawled across his canvases. You get the sense that McCracken might be trying to build up a catalogue of images for himself. What an artist! They all share a common language, riffing off one another, pushing boundaries, and keeping the conversation going.