“Untitled (0-9, ten, eight, six, four, three, two, one)”

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“Siena shifts his focus slightly in “Untitled (0-9, ten, eight, six, four, three, two, one)” (2014), whose open spaces create a pattern visible from across the room; 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9               1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8              1 2 3 4 5 6             1 2 3 4         1 2 3      1 2    1. It’s mind-bending to try and wrap your head around the state of mind necessary to ping these numbers out on a piece of rag paper and not make a mistake in nearly 60 lines. Here, where the sequencing builds up page long rhythmic patterns, the relationship between numbers and music seems unavoidable. Volumes have been written on the relationship between Bach and the Fibonacci numbers, but Siena brings us to an awareness of the kinship by playing it out before our eyes in the spacing of his numeric sequences. Alternating counting with the space bar and the number keys, he moves across and down the page.” (Joan Waltemath for Brooklyn Rail)

typewriter drawing
Source: brooklynrail.org James Siena

typewriter drawing