Sol LeWitt - Irregular, Angular Brushstrokes
American, 1928 - 2007
Irregular, Angular Brushstrokes, 1997
Aquatint, 51.5 x 40.5 inches
Edition 1/25
Crown Point Press
97.001

Gift of Thomas S. Porter (MBA '67)

LeWitt holds that the concept is the most important aspect of a work: “The idea becomes a machine that makes the art.” In his sculpture, works on paper, and wall paintings (one of which was created for the Uof M Museum of Art), leWitt uses pre-determined actions to create works of art. All decisions are made beforehand. Most usually, they are reflected in the title of a piece.

The aquatint Irregular, Angular Brushstrokes is just that: a layering of irregular, angular marks from four copper plates, each printed in one of three primary colors and black. The result is not theoretical or illustrative, but intuitive. The underlying logic in a work may be a simple scheme set on a predictable course, but the object is experientially unpredictable. Like Anni Albers' abstract prints, represented elsewhere in the Business School's collection, LeWitt's art plays with the unexpected in our mental processes.