Torso 1926

Andre Masson made this drawing, Torso, with what looks like charcoal or graphite on paper. It’s all about the push and pull of dark and light, creating a sense of form that’s both there and not there. I’m drawn to how Masson lets the medium breathe. The smudgy, almost ghostly outline of the torso suggests a body in flux, a form that’s constantly evolving. Notice how the straight line bisecting the image is so controlled and unwavering, while the lines around the base are frantic and chaotic. That contrast really gets me thinking about the tension between our conscious intentions and our unconscious drives, and how they play out in the act of creation. Masson’s surrealist contemporaries like Miro and Arp also tapped into this kind of automatic drawing, a kind of free-form, intuitive expression. It’s a reminder that art isn’t always about answers, sometimes it’s more about embracing the questions.