Untitled 1982

This untitled print by Mel Bochner is a real maze of straight lines. It kind of reminds me of building blocks but somehow more complicated and haphazard. Look closely, and you can see the texture of the paper and ink that Bochner put down. It’s not trying to hide anything, it’s all about the evidence of the process, the building up of the image. Notice how some of the lines are darker, more solid, and others seem to fade in and out, like ghostly remnants of previous attempts. There's a really cool contrast between the deliberate geometry and the accidental marks and smudges. It’s this layering that brings an unexpected depth. Bochner's approach reminds me a lot of Sol LeWitt, particularly in its emphasis on systems and the inherent beauty of simple forms. But Bochner adds something extra, this tangible sense of the artist's hand, questioning what we see and how we see it.