Devoted 1970

Curator: This intriguing piece is "Devoted," a 1970 mixed-media print by Mark Tobey. It seems to be ink on paper. What's your immediate take? Editor: It feels almost like an aerial view, a sort of obscured topography, or maybe a microscopic exploration. The limited palette lends it a contemplative, almost somber mood, don’t you think? Curator: I see it similarly! I think this work reveals an intimate, perhaps even spiritual, understanding of symbols. Each mark contributes to a web, a community almost, pointing to ideas of interconnection. Editor: That sense of community speaks to me. Tobey's abstraction resists easy interpretation. But I wonder about devotion. Is it devotion to form, to spirit, or to the collective whole? And what are the social and historical factors in 1970 that may be expressed? The work echoes that tumultuous period. Curator: Precisely! Tobey was deeply influenced by Eastern philosophies, specifically the Baháʼí Faith. Devotion in this sense is about faith—a connection to something bigger, and finding peace within complex networks. The web he presents shows connection and structure—perhaps it represents the devotion within humanity. Editor: And the geometric forms? Are those purely abstract, or do they function as codified elements that create and reiterate that sense of collectivity you're highlighting? Curator: It's both, I believe. Abstraction provides room for universal connection, transcending any one dogma, but he brings forms into existence as echoes of existing shapes in nature, geometry allows us to create a foundation. Editor: It strikes me how his spiritual journey connects to his radical approach to artmaking—abstracting from concrete form, towards universality. That idea of universal form also seems rooted in resistance towards other more divisive concepts, maybe? Curator: Absolutely. It offers solace, a vision of harmony that stands in contrast to division. These prints show how devotion allows one to form community from even what feels broken. Editor: Very powerful. Thanks to Tobey for urging this consideration; art as resistance, reflection, and connector. Curator: A wonderful final sentiment for Mark Tobey, indeed.