“Art is a mixture between concept and discipline”: Hanne Darboven : socks-studio

Hanne Darboven was a German prominent conceptual artist, whose most known works were large scale minimalist installations consisting of handwritten numerical sequences.

“I only use numbers because it is a way of writing without describing. . . . It has nothing to do with mathematics. Nothing! I choose numbers because they are so constant, confined, and artistic. Numbers are probably the only real discovery of mankind. A number of something (two chairs, or whatever) is something else. It’s not pure number and has other meanings.”

Her works tried to define a neutral experience of time, in an absolute abstract manner, alien to any aesthetic appeal, emotional or sensual expression. She used to refer to her works as “mathematical literature”: arbitrary architectures of time, they were continuous systems that represented both the flux of life and an all embracing order.