Butter Churn c. 1940

This line drawing of a butter churn was made by Giacinto Capelli, though the date is unknown. It reduces a practical, everyday object to its barest essentials, its most simple form, which echoes the churning process itself, a reduction of cream to butter. What I find fascinating here is how Capelli’s representation almost erases its own making. There’s very little evidence of the artist’s hand. It's hard to tell exactly what tool was used to make the line, though it has a delicate quality. The color is muted, the overall effect very calm and meditative. The simplicity of form reminds me of Agnes Martin’s line drawings, or perhaps some of Sol Lewitt’s wall drawings, where the idea or concept of the form seems more important than the final product. In art, as in butter making, the process is really where it’s at.