Spur c. 1936

This is J. Henry Marley’s Spur, rendered in ink on paper. The off-white ground is a classic surface for experiments in mark-making, and here Marley is working with careful shapes of black and grey to make a sort of diagram of a spur. I can imagine him trying to figure it all out: how does the spur actually work? What are all the parts called? He draws a circular spiky form, then decorates it with dots. This form then attaches to a C-shaped contraption. It looks like something out of a dream. It reminds me of those drawings artists sometimes make of machinery, or anatomy, where they combine observation with pure invention. You can almost feel Marley trying to get it right. Maybe the point isn't precision, but exploration. Drawing like this becomes a way of seeing, a way of knowing, and a way of playfully engaging with the world.