Untitled from Large Illumination Drawings 1972

Curator: Here we have an untitled piece from Simone Forti's "Large Illumination Drawings" series, created in 1972. It's a pencil drawing, very characteristic of her exploration of simple forms and movements. What strikes you first about it? Editor: It’s so understated. A seemingly casual arrangement of circles, lightly sketched, with heavier lines bisecting a few. The off-white paper lends a certain modesty to the entire composition. Curator: Forti was deeply engaged with the avant-garde dance scene in New York in the late 1960s and early 70s. Her background strongly informed her art practice; you can feel the residue of movement and spatial relationships influencing the final product. The use of geometric elements also nods toward early Conceptual Art experiments happening during this time period. Editor: The repetitive use of circles is interesting—almost cellular. There are three darker, incomplete circle designs; perhaps the lines signify energy or directions. It’s intriguing how she combines these elementary shapes into a unified composition. Do you think these shapes are symbolic of anything? Curator: Forti’s process was largely driven by experimentation and collaboration, which means this could be many things: mapping the trajectories of a dancer or perhaps just recording improvisational, intuitive gestures. Her practice was shaped by broader questions of systems and recording phenomena, something shared across a diverse set of art practices. Editor: It feels almost like a diagram, stripped down to its most basic form, but strangely…emotional. Despite its simplicity, the drawing has a tactile quality due to the pencil lines, giving a feeling of intimacy and of direct hand-to-paper contact. Curator: That’s definitely a feeling Forti intentionally sought to achieve: making her thought process visual through her own hand. It's fascinating to see how her understanding of human dynamics comes out on a static picture like this one. Editor: In its humility, it has a distinct grace. A very intimate encounter that leaves you thinking long after. Curator: Agreed; it quietly reveals layers the longer you look at it. I see it as a powerful and subtle study.