“Geographic and Algebraic Books” 1912-1916

Books 6, 7, 8, 11, 12, 13, 14

In the “Geographic and Algebraic Books” (1912-1916), Wölfli continues to use newsprint paper, but by now he also introduces brown wrapping paper, and the Books gradually increase in size. He develops two new picture types: number-pictures and music-pictures. Numbers and music become the representational forms that accompany the St. Adolf Creation and the events in the cosmic world, in contrast to the figurative illustrations related to the text in "From the Cradle to the Grave." The absence of illustrative drawings may also be due to the dynamic sweep of Wölfli's attempt to realize his St. Adolf Creation on a cosmic scale, with his ever recurring and growing foundation enterprises absorbing his entire creative energy.

The number-pictures (Books 6, 7, 8, 11 and 12) originate in the calculation of interest accruing from Wölfli's imaginary fortune. These number series reiterated in lead or colored pencil are most impressive in their design. The number-pictures reflect not only Wölfli's need for order but also his fascination with the incremental power of financial capital. The first part of Book 12 contains number-pictures that are frequently combined with figurative motifs fitted around the page as ornamental borders which depict Doufi's falls, execution scenes, or rows of figures and buildings. In the second part of Book 12 Wölfli writes number-pictures not only in numerals but also in words, using the names of his invented numerical system and sometimes combining them with portions of music notations.

The music-pictures exist primarily as musical notation, but some are combined with ornamental or figurative elements. They appear for the first time at the end of Book 11 in a series of fifteen drawings. The first seven are horizontal in format and resemble conventional music scores. In the following eight sheets Wölfli progresses to spiral or mandalalike vertical compositions. After the middle of Book 12 music-pictures increasingly replace number-pictures and they predominate in Book 13. Most of them are horizontal compositions with musical notations. Gradually the musical notations become activated: both the notation marks and the spaces between exist as entities and become readable, just as the positive and negative forms are. At first, the observer is puzzled by this interweaving of foreground and background elements. The interplay of light and dark and of interior and exterior realms seems complex and obscure. Executed in pencil, the dense fabric of notes produces a graying effect with the dull sheen of lead leaning toward darkness. In the vertical central axis of the compositions Wölfli gradually incorporates human figures: crucifixion scenes, coffins with dead people laid out in state, or series of crowned faces. These figurative elements executed in color intensify the overall impact of these pages. In Book 13 (1915) the first six collages appear in the spaces between the musical notation bands. Thus, Wölfli begins to fit pasted reproductions onto the pages instead of filling them with drawings. From 1916 on, in Book 14 the music notations disappear, replaced by solmization. Music-pictures do not appear in the Books after 1916; they can be found as parts of the “bread art” drawings from 1916-1930.

Another innovation of great importance occurs in 1915. Wölfli introduces a new motif into his vocabulary of forms: the eye mask. From 1912 onward, the glance looks sideways to the right, and thus the eye is divided into a black and a white shape. The black circles around the eyes get thicker and thicker and gradually close in the middle. Sometimes in these black circles around the eyes the eyelids remain visible as a white line. From mid-1915 on, this black shape spreads as far as the temples and comes to resemble a mask. This mask develops simultaneously with the music pictures of 1914-1916, just at the time when Wölfli was noticeably turning away from illustrative drawings and the figures were becoming ever more stylized. From 1916, the year he changed his name to St. Adolf II, the faces with the mask become Wölfli's emblem, leaving an indelible impression on the viewer. Toward the end of his life, from 1927 to 1930, the mask gradually disappears. In some drawings a gray veil is dispensed with altogether; the eyes are uncovered and look straight in front of them.

(Elka Spoerri)