Brush Breaker 2017

Editor: We are looking at "Brush Breaker," an ink drawing by David Michael Hinnebusch from 2017. The monochrome palette and the rapid strokes create a sense of urgency, like a fleeting moment captured in ink. What do you see in this piece, especially considering its abstract nature? Curator: The rapid strokes are indeed evocative, aren’t they? This reminds me of archaic writing--each mark appears freighted with meaning and yet stubbornly resists legibility. This abstraction seems rooted in gesture. Do you see how the composition balances a structured foreground against an amorphous background? Editor: I noticed the contrast between what seems more defined at the bottom and looser at the top. Are you saying this tension might symbolize something? Curator: Symbols always emerge from sustained perception, I'd suggest. Ink drawings historically served various ritualistic, documentary, and decorative purposes across cultures. The monochrome focuses our attention on line and form, enabling us to decipher a code, a symbolic record of the artist’s actions. Editor: So, instead of looking for a clear picture, we should focus on what the marks themselves might signify? Curator: Precisely! Consider how the artist handles pressure and speed. The varying thickness and intensity of the lines, those intentional breaks--they become their own language, wouldn't you agree? Editor: Definitely! Now that I'm paying attention, I see almost a rhythm in the way the ink is applied. I initially saw chaos, but now I see purpose. Curator: And that's often the point with such powerful abstract work: what seems random can be deeply considered. Editor: I've never thought of abstract art as having symbolic intentions before, thank you. Curator: It's about acknowledging cultural memory and visual continuity; abstract or not, artwork always contains coded information waiting to be unlocked by attentive viewers.