Sound lines

Artist Marcus Neustetter’s drawings are made up of hundreds upon hundreds of short lines and marks – some linking up to become shapes, some suggesting gestures and movements, and others even creating textures. 

The titles of his works give us clues as to what inspired them. Some of his works are named after musicians or pieces of music; for example, one series of drawings is called “Steve Reich”. While listening to Steve Reich’s music, Neustetter made his own marks and gestures in pen and ink – instant responses to the sounds he was hearing. 

In this sense, his lines and marks are records of those moments: Neustetter has called this process “momentary drawing”. 

Look at this drawing and see if, in turn, it evokes the possibility of a sound for you. Of course, we cannot “hear” the music he heard just by looking at these marks, but we might sense something of it: perhaps its rhythm, its staccato feel.