Portrait Hypographique de Van Gogh 1962

Isidore Isou made this 'Portrait Hypographique de Van Gogh' with ink and probably some kind of pen. The whole thing is essentially built out of text, with the lines of the portrait formed by these frantic, energetic words. It's like he's trying to trap Van Gogh within language, or maybe reveal something about him that only words can get at. I love the way the colors shift. The browns and greens feel almost mossy, organic, like the letters are growing out of the page. Then there's this black ink, scratchy and raw, that defines Van Gogh’s face, especially around the eyes. Look at that line digging in around his eyes! You can feel the intensity of Van Gogh. Isou really puts the pressure on by digging in there with the ink. It reminds me a little of Cy Twombly, that same sense of scribbled energy, of art that refuses to be neat or easily pinned down. To me, it celebrates the way that art embraces ambiguity.