In the early 1960s Conner led a nomadic existence, continuously creating drawings while living sporadically in Kansas, Massachusetts, and Mexico. The title of the earliest work here is a street address in Newton Center, Massachusetts, where the artist lived for three months in 1963. It is the first work in a series of intricate, meditative drawings Conner refers to as "mandalas." The density of twisting marks creates a sense of motion, as the black lines and white spaces take on equal weight. This optical play assumes a new form in his inkblot drawings, vertical or horizontal rows of accordion-like folds layered with inkblots. The seemingly uncontrollable spills are transformed into complexly structured shapes and assembled into orderly arrangements. Each individual inkblot resembles his earlier mandala designs on a more minute, intimate scale.
Gallery label from Glossolalia: Languages of Drawing, March 26–July 7, 2008.
