Cattle Brand c. 1936

This 'Cattle Brand' was made by J. Henry Marley, but we don’t know when. The drawing has a stark simplicity that I really appreciate. The mark is clear and decisive, almost like a print, but there are tiny variations in the thickness of the line and density of the ink that suggest it's been made by hand. I find myself focusing on the small imperfections, the slight wobble in the circular form at the top, or the unevenness of the curve at the bottom. These imperfections give it a kind of handmade quality that a more perfectly rendered image would lack. It reminds us that art is a process of human creation, not mechanical reproduction. Marley shares something with artists like Agnes Martin, in that he focuses on the essentials. Both artists invite us to find beauty in the simplest of forms. It shows us art can be about reducing things down to their essence.