Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is a drawing by Henry Pearson. It dates from 1964 and is held in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1964, this small spherical work consists of a mulberry‑colored papier‑mâché globe covered with dense black lines drawn in felt‑tip pen. The surface bears no recognizable geographic markers; instead, a network of looping strokes covers the entire sphere, giving the impression of an abstracted, organic map.
Subject & Meaning
The tangled lines function as a visual metaphor for hidden connections that bind the planet, resembling veins, roots or a nervous system that runs beneath the visible surface. By erasing conventional borders, the piece suggests a universal interdependence that operates beyond the obvious political or cultural divisions.
Technique & Style
Pearson employed a simple drawing instrument— a felt‑tip pen— to inscribe continuous, curvilinear gestures that follow the globe’s curvature. The choice of mulberry‑tinted papier‑mâché provides a warm, tactile base, while the stark black marks create a high‑contrast, graphic language characteristic of mid‑century abstract and modernist experimentation.
History & Provenance
American artist Henry Pearson, born in Kinston, North Carolina, produced the work after a career that included formal studies at the University of North Carolina, Yale University, and the Art Students League of New York. The piece entered the collection of the Museum of Modern Art, where it remains part of the institution’s holdings.
Context
Pearson’s experience designing military maps during the Okinawa campaign of World War II and his subsequent exposure to Japanese art while serving in the U.S. occupation of Japan informed his interest in cartographic forms and abstract visual systems. This background helps explain the work’s transformation of a conventional globe into a network of gestural lines.
Artist & collection
Artist
Henry C. Pearson (October 8, 1914 – December 3, 2006) was an American abstract and modernist painter. Pearson was born in Kinston, North Carolina, graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1938, and studied…
