Hear the Project Assistant (PP617)

I remember the making of Whirls and Twirls by Sol LeWitt as if it were yesterday. Working as part of a team alongside the Sol Lewitt Studio project leaders was very satisfying. It was summer and it was very hot and stifling crammed atop the scaffolding directly below the ceiling. My most enduring memory is of laying out the mural’s curves and grid with a tape measure and a large handmade compass, based on annotated color diagrams by Sol Lewitt, and transposing the pencil lines to the ceiling. Taping off the lines, sealing the edge of the tape, and painting the sections was the fun part. The final treat was taking off the tape and paper covering to see the finished artwork! The project was literally a pain in the neck—we had to crane our necks to work overhead—but it was an important experience for me as an artist and directly influenced my own art-making practice. Specifically, it gave me the patience and persistence to conceptualize, design, plan, and execute my paintings (on paper, canvas, and wall), often using some of the same techniques, tools, and materials.