Writ Large
Writ Large is a drawing machine that creates circular patterns inspired by center-pivot irrigation fields. Watercolor pens filled with ink are suspended from a rotating arm, moving slowly across the paper as the arm turns.
The pens repeatedly travel across the same area, leaving layers of marks. Small variations in the paper, the position of the suspended pens, and the amount of ink in each pen affect the resulting patterns. Rather than following a fixed design, the machine produces drawings that shift with each cycle.
Periodically, the paper is rolled forward, and the process begins again on a fresh section. As the exhibition continues, completed drawings accumulate on the floor and walls, forming a growing record of the machine’s movements.
Materials: Ink, watercolor pens, plywood, motor, electronics, PLA, paper, toy wheels paper, cement
Dimensions: 16”H x 84”L x 84”W
Photos: Bobby Scheidemann
As the first artwork visitors encounter in Every Body a Water Body, Every Field a Clock, Writ Large introduces the circular motif that runs throughout the exhibition. The work references the geometry of industrial agriculture, reimagining a center-pivot irrigation machine as a drawing tool. This connection is explored further in the darkened gallery.
As the machine slowly traces circular patterns across a large sheet of paper, its drawings echo the vast irrigated fields that stretch across the High Plains.
As the drawings accumulate and the ink gradually runs low, the work offers a quiet reflection on our unsustainable use of the Ogallala Aquifer and the uncertain future of water availability.
“There's nothing intrinsically evil about mining groundwater, as long as everyone understands just what he's doing.
The alternative is to leave it underground and simply enjoy knowing that it's there.”
Thomas Y. Canby, National Geographic writer and science editor