Lobster Pots #1 1955

Ralston Crawford made "Lobster Pots #1" using what looks like black ink on white paper. I imagine him bent over a table, drawing and redrawing these stark geometric shapes. Those sharp angles forming the lobster pots remind me of how shapes can be both really precise and kinda wonky at the same time. There’s a graphic quality, almost like a blueprint, but it's also softened by the way the ink bleeds into the paper, giving it a more expressive feel. I wonder if Crawford was thinking about how fishermen trap these creatures, or whether he was more interested in the interplay of line and form? The flat horizon of horizontal strokes set against these triangulated forms reminds me of other artists like Agnes Martin, or Sol Lewitt, who share an interest in repetition and abstraction. In the end, it's up to us, isn't it, to bring our own experiences to the table, and decide what it all means.