when wall text begins, and suggests...

in marfa, our collaborative piece was out in the landscape on the outskirts of town, but the headquarters of the exhibition was the marfa ballroom, who hosted the show. when i arrived at the space, only the first two letters of a very long wall text had been painted in, and it was strange and wonderful to see a large yellow wall that said only "em".

when i arrived home last night, i picked up a dictionary to see potentials on various words that began with em, suggesting trajectories for the wall text, making subjective choices and associations.

here a list, with some obviously known, and others read for the first time...

em - 1. the letter m. 2. printing. the square of the body size of any type, used as a unit of measure, originally an em was equivalent to the space occupied by the letter M in any given font.

emanation - an act or instance of emanating; a coming or flowing forth.

emarginate - having a notched tip, as a leaf or petal.

embark - to set out on a venture.

embayment - a bay or baylike shape. the formation of a bay

ember - a small piece of live coal or wood.

emblaze - to set on fire

emblazon - to ornament richly

emblem - an object or depiction of an object that comes to represent something else, usually by suggesting its nature or history.

embody - to invest with, or as if with bodily form. to make corporeal. to personify. to make part of a united whole.

embosom - to clasp of hold in the bosom; cherish; embrace. to shelter.

embouchere - the mouth of a river. 2. a. the mouthpiece of a wind instrument. b.the manner in which the lips and tongue are applied to such a mouthpiece.

embow - to curve into the shape of a bow or arch.

embrace - to clasp or hold to one with arms, usually as a display of affection. to take in with the eyes or mind.

embroidery - ornamentation of fabric with needlework.

emend - to improve a text by critical editing

emerald - a brilliant, transparent, green beryl used as a gemstone.

emersed - rising above the surface of water, as leaves of stems of aquatic plants.

emerson, ralph waldo - 1803 - 1882. american essayist and poet.

emission spectrum - teh spectrum of bright lines, bands, or continuous radiation chacteristic of and determined by specific emitting substance subjected to a specific kind of excitation.

emmetropia - the condition of the normal eye when parallel rays are focused exactly on the retina and vision is perfect.

emotionalist - one whose conduct, thought, or rhetoric is governed by emotion rather than reason, often as a matter of policy.

empathy - 1. the attribution of feelings aroused by an object in nature or art to the object itself, as when one speaks of a painting full of love. 2. understanding so intimate that the feelings, thoughts, and motives of one are readily comprehended by another.

emperor - 2. a. any of several brightly colored butterflies of the family nymphalidae.

empiric - one who believes that practical experience is the sole source of knowledge.

empress tree - a tree, paulownia tomentosa, native to china, having large, hairy leaves and clusters of lavender flowers.

empurple - to color or tinge with purple.

empyreal - 2. of or pertaining to the sky. celestial. 3. formed of pure fire or light.

emulsion - 2. photography. a light sensitive coating, usually of silver halide grains in a thin gelatin layer, on photographic film, paper, or glass.