Irregular Horizontal Bands of Equal Width Starting at Bottom 1991

Curator: Here we have Sol LeWitt’s “Irregular Horizontal Bands of Equal Width Starting at Bottom,” an acrylic work dating to 1991. What leaps out at you? Editor: Well, first, it feels oddly…earthy? Like a geological cross-section or even a very stylized mountain range. The colours are muted yet somehow vibrant at the same time. Curator: Precisely. LeWitt was interested in challenging the idea of the artist as a unique hand. He provides the concept, the system—here, those instructions are right there in the title, practically—but the execution is often delegated. Editor: So, the beauty lies in the system itself? It does feel quite rigorous, the unwavering width of the lines. But those irregularities… they are just enough to inject a bit of soul into the piece, right? Almost as if it were accidentally a painting! Curator: That’s a very insightful point. Those “irregularities” highlight the fact that even a delegated action contains subjectivity. While the rules may appear simple, it is about making countless decisions that reflect specific constraints or contextual situations within the system. Editor: There’s something almost meditative in the repetition, but also subtly subversive, considering it was made smack in the middle of the Postmodernism. The colours shouldn't quite work, and the fact they sort of do feels almost radical. Do you think LeWitt aimed to evoke landscape? Curator: LeWitt seldom divulged intention. More compelling is contemplating how a rational, almost mathematical concept might result in something evocative. In this instance, that geological suggestion or landscape element stems from the ordered irregularities of those bands. Editor: It's intriguing to think about the dance between intention and accident and that interplay between the rigidity of geometric minimalism and its more humanizing traits. Curator: Absolutely! Thanks for that excellent dialogue, shedding new light on the piece, as we consider “Irregular Horizontal Bands…” now let’s turn our attention to the next exhibit!