Invisible Communications 1967

Juan Downey made “Invisible Communications,” a print, and it looks like he was mapping an idea with his materials. The color palette in this print is really subdued, mostly pale browns and creams, but the details are all there. Downey is so concerned with communicating, even about invisible things, that he's marked the print with different components of the installation that he is describing, like the volume and the photocells. Looking at the composition, my eyes can’t help but focus on the long, straight line that runs across the middle. It is a beam of light that activates different sounds and electromagnets. I love how the artist is thinking about this, documenting the system in a way that feels both technical and deeply personal. It reminds me of work by another artist, Paul Klee, in that they both embraced ambiguity and experimented with different forms of language in their art. They both see art as an ongoing conversation.