This brief manuscript by Gego (Gertrud Goldschmidt, 1912–1994) is part of a collection of her thoughts on the subject of line, and offers tangible proof of her desire to acquire and express (in words) a clear conceptual idea of the most important expressive element in her work.
This text appears to express the conclusion of previous reflections. It is a revealing aphorism—typical of the “essentialist” discourse that can be found in other writings by Gego—which in turn leads to a new understanding of her words. With her categorical denial, recorded in the document, Gego paradoxically expresses a distinctly abstractionist attitude about the line, which can be clearly gleaned from her reading: the artistic line does not arise from sensory perception or from the experience of knowledge. This undated text was written in Spanish and German (her custom in her early years) and could be interpreted as her artistic discourse on abstraction: a change that, since figuration, was briefly visible in her work (from 1953 to 1954).
Other writings that express Gego’s thoughts on the line include: “La línea como concepto humano” [The Line as a Human Concept], s/f; “You Invited Me,” 1966; “Statement,” 1970; and “Planteamiento de problemas e intereses perseguidos” [A Consideration of Problems and Matters of Interest], 1977.
This document is part of the artist’s personal papers that are archived at the Fundación Gego in Caracas, Venezuela. It was assembled by Gego and filed with other texts under the title: “Sabiduras.” It was reprinted in María Elena Huizi and Josefina Manrique (organizers), Sabiduras y otros textos de Gego / Sabiduras and Other Texts by Gego (Houston: International Center for the Arts of the Americas, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and Fundación Gego, 2005).
