Horse Hair Cinch c. 1936

Harry Mann Waddell made this drawing of a Horse Hair Cinch, we don’t know exactly when, with what looks like pencil and ink on paper. I can imagine Waddell, leaning over his paper, carefully hatching those delicate lines, row after row. They give the object its volume and texture, almost like the warp and weft of a weaving. The linear quality is really interesting here, it’s so disciplined, precise. What was he thinking as he rendered the lines of the horse hair? Was he lost in thought, remembering the object itself, its feel, its use? There's a central band, dividing the form, like a break or pause in the drawing's rhythm. It is so amazing how drawing can communicate feeling, intention, and meaning, all at once. It reminds me of some of the early minimalist drawings, that sense of quiet observation and subtle repetition. Artists are always looking, learning, borrowing, conversing across time. This drawing, in its own way, embraces that ambiguity and uncertainty.