“No space” is a reflection in the form of a brief poem. It was written in English by Gego (Gertrud Goldsmith, 1912–1994), a Venezuelan artist of German origin, in late 1966 when she was in Los Angeles, California, as one of the artists invited to participate in the Tamarind Lithography Workshop. The poem is handwritten on the pale back side of an irregularly cut stretch of paper from a blue paper bag. With the subtitle “Wisdom 6. No space,” this was one of the two poems selected by Josefina Manrique and María Elena Huizi for the book Sabiduras y otros textos de Gego / Sabiduras and Other Texts by Gego [(Houston and Caracas: The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and Fundación Gego, 2005), pp. 246–49], which Manrique and Huizi compiled and edited; the other poem selected was “Testimonial 14: For Mom from Gertrud.” The note introducing the poem in that book reports that “In November and December, Gego worked intensively making lithographs, producing twenty-eight series of prints and two books. During this trip, she came into contact with local galleries and collectors. After that intense period of work, Gego went to the California coast to visit relatives and to rest. It was during that trip—possibly in or around the small coastal town of Port O’Call Village, San Pedro—that Gego wrote this brief poem. That New England-style California town has a wide variety of shops and restaurants, and a view of the main channel of the port of Los Angeles. The Tamarind Lithography Workshop was founded in Los Angeles, California, in 1960. Its mission was to resurrect the art of lithography, which was in danger of disappearing. In 1970, it became a satellite of the University of New Mexico College of Fine Arts in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The manuscript of this poem was translated into Spanish by Manrique and Huizi. The technical information about it in the aforementioned book reads: Manuscript: / No space / 1966. / Handwritten in red ink ballpoint pen / Piece of recycled paper bag / 17.5 x 25.5 cm. / Original in English [No space].
