Eight-Pointed Stars

In October 1968, Sol LeWitt made his first drawing directly on the walls at the Paula Cooper
Gallery. A radical act for art, this wall drawing challenged the established notions about how
art is made, purchased, and owned. For nearly four decades he has executed hundreds of
wall drawings worldwide and is known as the doyen of Minimal and Conceptual art. LeWitt
works only and consistently with ideas; his art is then executed by a craft specialist.

In Eight-Pointed Stars, LeWitt worked with master printer David Lasry at Two Palms Press in
New York. Here are the instructions he gave to create this print:

Do every possible two-part combination of white/grey/black/red/ yellow/ blue. Execute
in a format of eight-inch squares arranged in a grid pattern, beginning at the left corner with
white on white.

For every star, a piece of handmade paper was hand-dyed. The star image was milled on an
aluminum plate, hand-inked, and printed. The result is pleasingly simple, reminiscent of an
Early American quilt pattern. Executed in an edition of 15, this print took six people several
months to complete.

2002.13