Sylvae 1981

Cy Twombly made 'Sylvae' on paper with paint and crayon. It’s dated May 12, 81, which makes me think of a diary entry, or maybe a quick note, rendered in marks. That big swoosh of fleshy pink is pretty luscious. I wonder what kind of brush he used? You can almost feel the drag of the bristles on the paper. He builds up the surface, layer by layer, until it almost feels like skin, or the petal of a flower. At the top, a swipe of raw red breaks into the pink, like a sudden thought. And down below, those little scribbles of green, holding the whole thing up! Twombly’s like a more poetic and less angry Basquait. Both capture a feeling of vulnerability. It’s like they are making up their own language as they go. It's the kind of art that reminds us that meaning isn't fixed, and that art is an ongoing experiment.