Untitled #1 c. 1980s

Joel Fisher made this tiny, untitled drawing on paper. It's just lines, right? But those lines are so tentative, so delicate, they feel like a thought barely formed. The paper itself is rough, handmade maybe, and that texture becomes part of the drawing. Look how the lines wobble a bit as the pencil catches on the fibers. The top shape reminds me of a very simple house, or maybe a head, and underneath, that kind of wonky X with a tail. I think of Cy Twombly, scribbling away, but Fisher is even more restrained. It's like he's whispering something secret on the page. The color palette is almost nonexistent. The drawing suggests the bare minimum is needed to express an idea. Art making is a process of continual conversation.