Cattle Brand c. 1936

This is J. Henry Marley's 'Cattle Brand', made on paper with ink. It looks like an alphabet, but I’m not sure which one. The stark black ink on the white paper makes me think about urgency and purpose, like it's a signal. Up close you can see the marks are not perfectly precise; there are tiny wobbles and variations in the thickness of the lines, so you can see the hand in it, like a drawing. It’s a solid thing, but it’s also a bit shaky, vulnerable even. I like the way the marks feel intuitive, like Marley wasn't afraid to let the hand do what it wanted. It reminds me of some of the work of Ree Morton, who took overlooked vernacular forms and turned them into something almost ceremonial. In both cases, it seems like the work is less about the finished product and more about the energy and intent that goes into the making. There's this beautiful openness to interpretation.