A wall is divided horizontally into two equal parts. Top: alternating horizontal black and white 8-inch (20 cm) bands. Bottom: alternating vertical black and white 8-inch (20 cm) bands.

January 1990

India ink

Yale University Art Gallery
Gift of Alexis B. Dittmer and Jason J. Dittmer

First Installation
Galerie Onrust, Amsterdam

First Drawn By
Paul Kleijne, Milco Onrust, Marien Schouten

MASS MoCA Building 7
Second Floor

In his first wall drawings, Sol LeWitt reduced drawing to its most basic element: the line, which he drew in four directions (vertical, horizontal, diagonal left, and diagonal right). These lines in four directions have become a signature formal element for the artist. They are often organized into a square divided into four equal parts, each part with a line in a different direction. However, in Wall Drawing 630 and Wall Drawing 631 (shown on the same wall at MASS MoCA) the lines, which have been translated into wide India ink bands, take up the entire wall. The four types of lines abut each other, creating natural divisions of the wall. By pairing the two drawings, which were originally exhibited together at Galerie Onrust, Amsterdam, LeWitt creates a graphic, dynamic presentation of the classic lines in four directions.