This is the text of the remarks made by the German-born Venezuelan artist Gego (Gertrud Goldschmidt, 1912–1994) as she introduced herself to her companions and instructors at the Tamarind Lithography Workshop—located in those days in Los Angeles, California, though currently part of the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM—where she was invited to teach a print class in 1966. Gego had previously attended the workshop in 1963, at which time she produced a number of lithographs.
In addition to recording Gego’s introductory remarks, this document reveals the creative process involved in her work, which she sees as an endless path that begins with the line. She also acknowledges the importance of space: the area “between the lines” that is unquestionably another significant aspect of her work. It is of interest to note that here, as in other documents, when Gego discusses lines she refers to her training as an architect and is fully aware of the line’s transition toward the autonomous “life on its own terms” that it enjoys in the realm of art. She is perhaps also acknowledging the work she did with lines during her architectural phase, and suggesting that this might be how she came to understand the potential of lines that she then applied in her artistic work. During her stay at the Tamarind Lithography Workshop, Gego created a number of lithographs and as mentioned in her speech, two books: Líneas y Litografía plegada [Lines and Folded Lithographs]. Other documents in which Gego expressed her ideas on the subject of the line include: “Line as human,” s/f; “Relaciones de líneas” [Relationships of Lines], s/f; “Statement,” 1970; and “Planteamiento de problemas e intereses perseguidos” [A Consideration of Problems and Matters of Interest], 1977.
This document is part of the artist’s personal files which are archived at the Fundación Gego in Caracas, Venezuela. It was reprinted in María Elena Huizi and Josefina Manrique (organizers), Sabiduras y otros textos de Gego / Sabiduras and Other Texts by Gego (Houston: International Center for the Arts of the Americas, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and Fundación Gego, 2005).