Maestlin G Region of the Moon 1972

Nancy Graves made this drawing, Maestlin G Region of the Moon, with colored pencil and graphite on paper. Isn’t it something how the simplest tools can map the cosmos? I love that she’s using this pointillist technique, building up the image from all these tiny dots, it’s not unlike the way we construct our own understanding of the world, bit by bit, through experience. The colors are muted, almost pastel, with these pinks, greens, and blues, like a faded memory of a lunar landscape. The surface is smooth, almost like skin, but the graphite gives it a toothy feel. Look at the way these clusters of dots form shapes, like land masses on a map. The density of the marks creates a sense of depth, of craters and valleys on the moon’s surface. It reminds me of Agnes Martin’s grids, but with a playful, almost whimsical touch. Both artists invite us to contemplate the infinite through the simplicity of mark-making.