Suma 1982

Cy Twombly created "Suma" using wax crayon and graphite on paper. The work appears to operate in a space between intention and accident. The scribbled lines of red crayon seem uncontrolled, yet the overall composition has a clear structure. Twombly was an American artist working in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, a time when the institutions of art were being challenged by new media, new voices, and new forms. His work can be seen as a challenge to the traditional idea of the artist as a skilled craftsman, and instead proposes a more open-ended, process-based approach. The work is titled "Suma," which could reference the Buddhist mantra "Om mani padme hum." In this context, we might wonder if Twombly is suggesting that the act of creation is a kind of meditation, a way of emptying the mind and allowing the unconscious to guide the hand. To understand Twombly's work better, we might look at the history of abstract expressionism, the rise of conceptual art, and the changing role of the artist in contemporary society.