So I had this chalk around
and Id been playing around with it
I just poured out some of the chalk
and I took a rag
and I just started rubbing it on the wall
And my arm made a kind of natural motion
and left a smudge, this big blue smudge
So the smudge was the first one
And then, what would be next?
[laughs]
Enlarge the smudge until it covers the whole wall,
so that the smudge expands, the wall contracts [laughs]
I didnt want to make a mural
And to me, a mural is something that extends
to the edges
and creates a complete and total illusion
In other words, a window into the wall
You cant put a mark on the wall
without having something illusionistic
but to simultaneously counter that illusion
by somehow giving back the wall
And the wall becomes part of it,
and the particular texture of the wall,
and the kind of paint thats on it
You know, theres that great thing that John Cage said
about Rauschenberg's white paintings,
theyre airports for light and shadow
Standing here looking at this thing
as it, you know, started expanding,
and the way the light changed,
it just reaffirmed my belief
that the idea is only a small part of a work of art
