Sitings (SW) 1998

Editor: We're looking at Jill Baroff’s "Sitings (SW)," an ink on paper drawing from 1998. The composition is so minimal, just a few intersecting lines. I'm struck by its quietness; it almost feels like a whisper. What do you see in this piece? Curator: Immediately, I'm drawn to the materiality. The delicate paper support contrasts with the starkness of the ink. Note the way Baroff allows the paper’s inherent texture to interact with the drawn lines, creating subtle variations in tone and density. Observe also the formal geometry created by these intersecting lines. It seems very self-contained and refers to the picture plane first, right? Editor: Yes, the texture is subtle. I also notice how the lines aren’t perfectly straight, they waver, as if drawn by hand with deliberate imperfection. It adds a layer of… vulnerability, maybe? Is that intentional? Curator: Precisely. It subverts any easy reading of rigid geometry. Consider how those irregularities complicate the implied grid. Baroff uses line quality—thickness, weight, even the slight trembling—as a core element of expression. One could explore its semiotic implications... do the lines act as indexes for a feeling or presence? What does their visual instability mean in the greater construction of the artwork? Editor: So, it's less about what the lines represent, and more about what they *do* within the composition, how they make us *feel* something geometric but imperfect, stark but soft... Curator: Precisely. The genius resides in how such limited means – ink, paper, line – achieve a profound complexity. This is a study of what happens at the intersections of materials and concept. Editor: I’m seeing the power in that restraint now. The way she teases out so much from so little. Thanks! Curator: And thank you. Close observation always repays the effort.