Rattle (Matraca) 1941

This drawing of a rattle, or matraca, was made by William Kieckhofel at some point in his lifetime using what looks like colored pencil. I love the way he’s built up these very considered textures and tones in the wood panels, with their aged vertical grains. It feels so immediate and present. What really gets me going, though, is the way he treats the metallic elements. There's a sort of playful shorthand here, with the reddish-brown borders and those decorative iron handles. The paint is thin, precise, and really lets the paper breathe. Look at how each tiny dot or dash contributes to the overall impression of aged metal. It is as though the drawing is a record of touch. I think Kieckhofel’s process here reminds me a little of Alfred Jensen’s use of color as code, or maybe the quiet geometries of Agnes Martin, with their gentle imperfections and soft palettes. There's a warmth and approachability in his rendering, a feeling of art as an open conversation.