The complex, algorithmic drawings of German artist Jorinde Voigt defy simple categorization. They adhere neither to the pure aestheticism of conventional abstract art, nor to the real-world functionality of the design concept. Within the subcategory of conceptual art, Voigt’s drawings exhibit an unusual degree of purposefulness, despite their function as technically purposeless aesthetic objects. The critic is therefore faced with the difficulty of defining both Voigt’s subject matter and her importance as an artist. I argue that the explicit rendering of structural rules, as well as the absence of an exterior of practical application, places Voigt’s artworks in the Structuralist tradition. After the linguistic theories of Ferdinand de Saussure, Structuralism aims to reveal the common systemic properties behind many individual expressions. While achieving this structural transparency, Voigt also exceeds the Structuralist project by proposing not one but a multitude of independent graphic systems. In doing so, she directs our attention to the structurality of structure, a concept proposed by the philosopher Jacques Derrida. Derrida’s notion of the center, the governing principle of a structure which escapes structurality, may be used to explain the internal coherence of Voigt’s drawings, while also accounting for the arbitrary nature of their total form.

Jorinde Voigt: Blueprints for Nothing