Artwork
Proposal (bulb and watch)
Proposal (bulb and watch) is a drawing by Michael Craig-Martin. It dates from 1992 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
About this work
This is a drawing from 1992 by Michael Craig-Martin. It’s called *Proposal (bulb and watch)*. The work explores how simple lines can stand in for objects.
Craig-Martin often used adhesive tape early in his career to keep his hand out of the drawing. This piece is part of his long study of line that started in the 1960s.
Look up the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Overview
Proposal (bulb and watch) is a 1992 drawing by Michael Craig‑Martín. The work reduces two everyday items—a light bulb and a watch—to their essential outlines, using line to suggest form rather than depict detail. It exemplifies the artist’s ongoing investigation of how minimal marks can convey recognizable objects.
Subject & Meaning
By rendering the bulb and watch as schematic silhouettes, the drawing questions the conventions of visual representation. The reduction to pure line invites viewers to recognize the objects through abstraction, highlighting the relationship between symbol and thing.
Technique & Style
Craig‑Martín employs thin, flexible adhesive tape as a drawing tool, a method he adopted early to keep his hand from influencing the marks. The tape creates crisp, uniform lines that emphasize the work’s minimalist aesthetic and its focus on the geometry of everyday objects.
History & Provenance
The piece belongs to a series that began in the 1960s, when Craig‑Martín first explored the nature of line within conceptual and minimalist frameworks. Created at the height of the Young British Artists movement—a group that included many of his former students—it reflects his influence on subsequent generations.
Context
Craig‑Martín’s tenure as a tutor at Goldsmiths College (1974‑1988, 1994‑2000) positioned him at the centre of British contemporary art education. His interest in drawing led to curatorial projects such as the 1995 Whitechapel exhibition Drawing the Line, situating this work within a broader dialogue about the medium’s possibilities.
Artist & collection
Artist
Sir Michael Craig-Martin (born 28 August 1941) is an Irish-born contemporary conceptual artist and painter.
