Untitled (Abstract) 1937

Frederick J. Whiteman made this abstract print, sometime during his lifetime using graphic ink on paper. Looking at this reminds me how artmaking is like a process of translation, or maybe cryptography. The stark black ink contrasts against the white of the page. It forms bold shapes that seem to balance precariously, like a tightrope walker defying gravity. There’s a flurry of lines near the bottom, like a shorthand scribble that could be musical notation or just a doodle, yet these marks create a visual energy that propels the whole composition. Whiteman’s work resonates with that of Stuart Davis, who also transformed the everyday into jazzy abstractions, turning reality into a symphony of shapes and rhythms. Like music, this print doesn’t try to tell you what to think, but invites you to feel, to imagine, and to interpret.