A Review of Wall Drawings 11 and 16

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A wall divided horizontally and vertically into four equal parts. Within each part, three of the four kinds of lines are superimposed. May 1969 Black pencil Yale University Art Gallery
The three kinds of lines are horizontal vertical and diagonal.

“Wall drawing number 11” is a quarter inch spaced grid of graphite lines. The line scheme creates quarter inch squares with triangles created by the diagonal. This pattern forms a grey rectangle about 6 feet high and about 16 feet long. Common in LeWitt’s work is the instruction superimposed.

superimposed:

A) adjective 1 superimposed added or imposed without integration; "the superimposed symbolism lacked validity"; "superimposed periodic variation" 2 layered superimposed with one layer on top of another; "superimposed rocks" 3 overlying, superimposed placed on or over something else; "an overlying image"

Wall drawings # 11 and #16 should be viewed in succession. “Wall Drawing Number 11” lays a point of reference for #16. In the following drawing we see how the same rules in a reduced affected area and its design can create new forms.

Wall Drawing Number 16

Bands of lines 12 inches (30 cm) wide, in three directions (vertical, horizontal, diagonal right) intersecting. September 1969Black pencil Collection Michalke

LeWitt's lines have rules for interactions in a way that Quantum Mechanics have rules for interaction of particles. "Wall Drawing Number 16" describes rules for the previous piece. Made clear in “Wall Drawing Number 16” is the reasoning for his line angle sellection. When grouped in “bands“ we see that the lines don‘t intersect. This is Lewitt‘s muse showing itself early on, which is a visual object that states a truth about itself visualy "Wall Drawing Number 11" has our attention with the illustrated labor of ruled lines creating a lattice of squares intersected by the diagonal to make triangles within the squares. “Wall drawing Number 16” uses these same lines in 12-inch wide strips, or what the instructions call for “bands”. With the strip of the diagonal lines over the strip of horizontal lines an un-intersected parallelogram is now made. ( drawing above right)The way patterns intersect with each other is made clearer given the added negative space. With each layer overlaid a construction of space is presented to the viewer. The addition of each band pushes previous layer back. "Wall Drawing Number 16" informs the viewer about how these patterns exist on the same plane at the same time. The viewer enters the diagonal, follows up until it intersects with the horizontal band and then into the vertical intersections. This process brings in more and more lines as one moves toward the center. Is this LeWitt’s Standard Model for his lines?

Definition:

Standard Model:

The Standard Model of particle physics is a theory of three of the four known fundamental interactions and the elementary particles that take part in these interactions. These particles make up all visible matter in the universe.

The Instructions for Lewitt’s “Wall Drawing #11” tell the technician to use “Three of the four kinds of lines.” A correlation is made with LeWitt's lines to the weak, strong and electromagnetic forces of the Standard Model. The plans for the two drawings were executed in 1969 two years after the standard model was made somewhat complete with the addition of the Higgs mechanism, which gave all the elementary particles masses.

The Higgs field was theorized in the 1960s by British physicist Peter Higgs. The theory hypothesizes that the Higgs field is a lattice that fills the universe. In the Higgs field: a particle moving through it creates a distortion that lends mass to the particle. This clustering effect is the Higgs mechanism.

In “Wall Drawing Number 11” the crisscrossing of LeWitt’s lines or “forces” give rise to a dense lattice. LeWitt finds a conclusion in this drawing that his three interactive forces are indeed unified at the vertices they create. This visual logic creates an overall fourth object (lattice) made by the three intersecting forces. “Wall Drawing Number 11” shows the connections of the vertices of LeWitt’s forces and how they create a field or state. Illustrated latter in “Wall Drawing Number 16” this lattice only takes place where all forces converge, illustrating an interdependence. “Wall Drawing Number 16“ when LeWitt analyzes the forces independently, describing each direction apart from the other directions the lattice is gone.

Without the use of particle accelerators, or an army of mathematicians and physicists, Sol

LeWitt finds a relationship to a fourth object by his three kinds of lines. This discovered function of parts creating a whole mirrors the dependance of the electromagnetic, strong and weak forces on the The Higgs Mechanism to unify under the Standard model.