Studies for Sackler Gallery Installation 2002

Curator: Mel Bochner, born in 1940, created this preparatory sketch, titled "Studies for Sackler Gallery Installation." What strikes you initially? Editor: Its rawness, almost childlike. The simple lines outlining complex ideas, like capturing a fleeting thought. Curator: Indeed. Notice how he's mapping out potential wall interventions, playing with perspective and surface extension. Editor: I see those repeated squares, some solid, some outlined, suggesting a grid that both contains and breaks apart. Curator: Right. It's Bochner's mind at work, deconstructing the gallery space even before physically altering it. The handwriting provides insight. Editor: It’s fascinating seeing the bones of a future installation laid bare, it lets us see the inner workings. Curator: It's a privileged glimpse, a reminder that even monumental art begins with the most humble of marks. Editor: A little like seeing the rough draft of a grand poem.