Untitled (Calendar schemes, letterforms, cloaked figures)

James Castle

after 1945

Soot on white found paper (commercially printed Amalgamated Fine Granulated Sugar wrapper)

Minneapolis Institute of Art

Calendar schemes, letterforms, and pictographs appear regularly in Castle’s drawings and handmade books. Though he never learned to read or write, Castle understood the implicit function of calendars, letters, and words as abstract sign systems that convey information or meaning. For Castle, the conventional utility of these systems was less important than their formal or structural properties. Indeed, as seen in this example, repetition, rhythm, and the harmonious arrangement of form were paramount. That the meaning of his pictographs and letterforms is not readily apparent does not negate their appeal as abstract designs. The mean