Survey Graphic Vol. XXV (1936) 1936

The Survey Graphic Vol. XXV was made in 1936 using ink on paper. I look at this ochre book cover and I immediately think, texture. Feel the weave of the cloth, see where the ink has settled into the canvas. What did this feel like in the hands of those who read it? It makes me think about Agnes Martin, who also explored color through the grid. She would begin with a perfect, precise plan, and then work against it, against her own ideas. I can imagine Survey Associates Inc. carefully choosing this color, this material, and this design as a signifier of the content inside. I wonder how many people held this book? Did they read it cover to cover? Did they learn something that changed their life? When we look at art, we’re in conversation with those who came before us, inspired by their ideas, their experiments, their humanity. This book is an opportunity to consider our shared history.