Work 1957

This drawing by Akira Kanayama is made with red and black pen marks that build up into a tangled cloud of lines. It's a drawing about process, about watching something come into being. The marks are very free and energetic, like the artist allowed the pen to do the work without interference. The red lines feel somehow under, a sort of ground, while the black feels like it is vibrating, on top. If you look closely, you can see how the lines are built from small circular movements of the hand. They almost seem to pulse on the page, like veins. The density of the line creates the form; the image emerges from the act of drawing, rather than pre-existing it. Kanayama was associated with the Gutai group, a Japanese avant-garde art movement formed in 1954. They were interested in moving beyond representation, towards an art of pure materiality and action. I am reminded of Cy Twombly, with his scribbled, performative approach to drawing. What Kanayama does here is a way of showing the world a new way, of seeing what a drawing can be.