Untitled (The Letter) 1964

Robert Morris made this "Untitled (The Letter)" sometime in his life, from felt, aluminum, and string. It's a really striking piece because of how it plays with flatness and depth. The gray palette is so restrained. Look closely at the surface of the 'letter' itself; it’s not just flat. You can almost feel the give and the take of the felt, how it’s been worked, maybe even a little bit distressed. It makes you wonder about the hidden message it might contain. I like how this gray thing hangs from strings, so vulnerable. Morris reminds me a bit of Jasper Johns in the way he elevates everyday objects into something meditative. But where Johns is all about the surface, Morris is interested in the object’s presence in space, its quiet, almost melancholic weight. It’s a conversation about what art can be, and how little it needs to say so much.