Souffleur, what is the meaning of 'écriture automatique'?
‘Ecriture’, Marthe Wéry, 1981, Cera-collectie bij M Leuven
SOUFFLEUR
Écriture automatique
Just like all fields, art has its own vocabulary. In ‘Souffleur’, M staff explain and contextualise the professional terminology that may sound familiar to you, but whose exact meaning you (may) have forgotten.
‘Ecriture’, Marthe Wéry, 1981, Cera-collectie bij M Leuven
‘Écriture automatique is still employed in contemporary art. In our new collection presentation DOKA you can see a work that illustrates this: Ecriture by Marthe Wéry. The artist sat down with a large sheet of paper and noted down her impressions, without pausing or thinking, with small, densely-spaced letters. Only the columns on the page give the work a formal structure.’
‘But écriture automatique is broader than writing: it can also be about visual processes. For example, in the drip paintings of Jackson Pollock. He put a canvas on the floor of his studio and poured or spattered paint onto it – unconsciously, without a predetermined plan.’
‘Écriture automatique can be a way of tapping into a deep source of creativity in yourself, of expressing something that would otherwise remain hidden. That’s why it continues to appeal to artists.’
‘Ecriture’, Marthe Wéry, 1981, Cera-collectie bij M Leuven
