Scribble (from Sketchbook) 1811 - 1893

This page from a sketchbook is by John William Casilear, a 19th-century American artist. We can see that the artist was working with graphite on paper. The visual field is dominated by a subtle range of light and dark grey tones. Notice how faint vertical lines give structure to the page while a scattering of abstract marks and letters overlay this. The composition of the image is sparse, and we can interpret these elements as indicators of a semiotic system of signs. Consider the use of line, the varying pressure of the pencil on the paper, and the negative space surrounding the letters and marks. These elements can be seen as a reflection of the artist's thought process. The sketch invites us to consider how an artwork's meaning can be derived not just from its representational content but from the materiality and the artist’s expressive processes. It destabilizes our expectations by presenting a seemingly unfinished work that challenges traditional notions of completion.