Five Composition Studies c. 1940s

Ralston Crawford made these five studies on one sheet of paper, probably with a fine liner pen. They're all about the bones of buildings, the way structures hold themselves up, and how we see those structures. I love that they're called ‘studies,’ like Crawford is trying to figure something out. The lines are confident but not precious, as if he’s thinking through the pen. Look at the bottom left study, the way the lines intersect and create these almost accidental shapes. It reminds me that artmaking is often about finding beauty in the unexpected. The lines are all doing something, defining the space of a wall or a roof. These feel like the kind of drawings you do when you're bored, or on the phone, but they're also so precise and deliberate. Crawford reminds me a bit of Agnes Martin, in the way that he finds so much in so little. It's not about making a perfect image, but about finding something new in the act of seeing.