Principle of Detachment: Right Angles In

In this work, Bochner once again brings mathematical principles to the fore to consider how language and systems can reflect our world and perception. Principle of Detachment: Right Angles In quite literally illustrates the geometric Law of Detachments, which states that if “p” then “q” is true and “p” is also true, then “q” is true as well.
For example, if it is raining (p), then water is falling down from the sky (q). If you can verify that the statement above is true and someone confirms that it is, in fact, raining (p), then you can correctly deduce that water is falling down from the sky (q). In this charcoal and gouache on paper, Bochner illustrates the Principle of Detachment using a schematic grid of numbers, letters, triangles, and lines. However, interestingly, what would normally be an orderly and systematic rendering contains smudges of charcoal, smears of gouache, layered and inverted numbers, and ghostly remains of previous markings all around. The work reveals traces of the artist’s hand through these details, introducing a sense of uncertainty and indeterminacy to a subject that, otherwise, is seen as absolute, definite, and unquestionable. In this piece, the right angles are in, meaning that they are in the middle of the piece and that they touch each other to form a line of reflection that acts as a mirror of the two parts. Through his drawing, Bochner suggests that our human tendency to order our world through rational thought is not as black-and- white as we think. Like the numbers that appear to be drawn from a series of different perspectives, our points of view inevitably come into play and render the act of determining meaning subjective rather than objective.