Untitled ["tattoo" book] 1971

This is an image of a page from James McCracken Jr.’s “tattoo” book. The drawings are made with ink on paper. It's like you're looking at a flash sheet from a tattoo parlor but in a book form. I’m drawn to the directness of the marks, the boldness of the black ink against the cream paper. The lower jaw is rendered with thick outlines, a simplified geometry that still feels so human, while the skull above is ghostly, light. The book format emphasizes artmaking as a process, each page a step in a journey. The artist's hand is present in every line. When I look at the teeth, each one separate from the next, I imagine him pausing, considering each tiny decision. It reminds me of outsider art, how the simplest gestures can carry so much emotional weight. Think of artists like Forrest Bess, or even some of Guston’s later, more pared down works. In the end, it's about finding your own language, and using it to talk back to the world.