Drawing Which Makes Itself 1972

Editor: Dorothea Rockburne’s "Drawing Which Makes Itself," made in 1972, features graphite and pencil on vellum. It's minimalist, almost severe, with sharp angles and a stark contrast between the graphite square and the delicate pencil lines. How should we understand the process at work here? Curator: Consider the title itself, “Drawing Which Makes Itself.” It's a bold claim, challenging the traditional role of the artist as sole creator. What if the artist simply facilitates a process? Editor: So, less about individual expression, and more about the properties of the materials themselves? Curator: Exactly. Think about the vellum: its texture, its absorbency. How does the graphite interact with it? The work appears to explore the tension between control and chance. Note that the hard dark geometrical square seems to float in comparison to the fine lines on the stark white sheet of paper, with very similar oblique angles repeated throughout the composition. Where does the artist begin and the medium end? Editor: It makes me wonder about the 'labor' of the drawing, about the decisions the artist is taking by using only those specific tools. Is she interested in revealing a kind of artistic 'raw material?' Curator: Precisely. What can the reductive nature of the pencil and graphite tell us about the materials and methods used to make art? Editor: I guess I never considered the drawing 'making itself,' but I see that Rockburne is bringing attention to those underlying properties that usually go unnoticed. Curator: By emphasizing the act of creation, the labor, Rockburne draws attention to the very foundations of art. Editor: Right. This changed my perspective. Now I wonder what other unseen artistic processes exist within minimalist artworks.