The word "pressures" is repeatitively written in the image. The Passdoor (Sebastopol CA) website Edith Kallman (1926-2014) was unique in her approach, using the repetition of words in a calligraphic style to create intricate patterns. Her spirals and grids offer us personal and social messages that vanish into graphic images. "Such words and phrases as: Obsessive, Pressures, And On and On, serve as titles...the words stimulate viewer participation and experience." Edith was influenced by the abstract expressionist painters of the 50"s and 60's, and contemporary artists of her time: Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Philip Guston, Adolph Gottlieb, Franz Kline, Robert Motherwell, Barnett Newman, Ad Reinhardt, Mark Rothko, and Clyfford Still. You can see their influence in her use of color fields and gestural brush strokes. In the early 70"s she developed her own style, which challenged the aesthetic establishment of her times. She was highly influenced by the Graffiti Art movement introduced into the modern vernacular of painting by Robert Rauschenberg, followed by the new wave of two avant-guarde artists--Keith Herring and Jean-Michel Basquiate . Words became her obsession and stylistic focus. Her beautiful calligraphic patterns, both in color and in black and white, embody an intimate visual dynamic. She mastered her techniqueon paper and canvas with her meticulous use of pen and brush, and in her later work through the technique of mono printing. Edith draws us into her inner world, allowing us to choose how we decode her mysterious paintings with words. -- Source of annotation: Marvin or Ruth Sackner.