Inventor 1994

Robert Keyser's "Inventor," is printed on paper, a medium with its own rich history tied to communication, commerce, and artistic expression. The printmaking process here is not immediately apparent, but it would have involved the careful transfer of an image onto the paper surface. The dashed lines and geometric forms give the impression of a schematic, suggesting a mind at work, possibly on the verge of a new idea. Look closely and you'll see a tension between the freehand quality of the drawn lines, and the more rigid geometry of the other shapes. The material simplicity of paper and ink belies the intellectual labor involved in conceiving the image, and the skilled labor required to produce the print. "Inventor" offers a reminder that even the most apparently simple materials can be a vehicle for complex thought. This work challenges us to consider the relationship between the hand-made and the machine-made, the artistic and the utilitarian.