Wall Paper c. 1937

Karl Joubert made this wallpaper design, with paint on paper, sometime in the 20th century. It makes me think about the pleasure, and also the possible frustration, of making repeating patterns. I imagine Karl, dipping his brush into that pale blue paint, pressing it onto the surface, and then doing it again, and again, and again, trying to get it just right. Repetition can be a form of meditation, or a kind of madness, like Agnes Martin lining her grids. I am drawn to how those leaf-like shapes are not identical, but each has its own character and energy, with the thin lines of the vines connecting them, adding to the overall rhythm and flow. And there is the off-white which almost glows against the background. It feels like a dialogue, a conversation between forms, that speaks to the history of decoration, craft, and image-making.