Marupai c. 20th century

This Marupai, made by Elema, has landed here at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, but where has it travelled from, what has it seen? I imagine the artist carefully scratching away at the surface, revealing the lighter material beneath. Each mark is a tiny decision, a delicate dance between intention and chance. It's so nice when you make tiny marks and then get a kind of world! The triangles marching across the surface, so disciplined, so sure of themselves, contrasted by the loose spirals, like thoughts unfurling. I bet the artist was thinking about rhythm. Not just the rhythm of the hand, but of the community. I bet they were in dialogue with art from all places. Art doesn't happen in a vacuum. We look, we borrow, we argue, we riff. And hopefully, we make something new. I'm very happy to be in this endless art conversation with this Elema artist.