"[A]
trace is any enduring mark left
in or on a solid surface by a continuous
movement. Most
traces are of one or other of two kinds: additive and reductive...
Lines that are scratched, scored or etched into a surface are reductive, since in this case they are
formed by removal of material from the
surface itself. Like threads,
traces abound in the non-
human world. They most commonly result from the movements of
animals, appearing as
paths or
tracks... Some
traces, however, entail neither the addition nor the subtraction of material. In his celebrated work ‘A line made by
walking’ (
1967), artist
Richard Long paced up and down in a
field until a line appeared in the
grass. Though scarcely any material was removed by this activity, and none was added, the line shows up in the
pattern of
reflected light from countless stems of
grass bent underfoot."
Tim Ingold,
Lines: A Brief History, London & NY: Routeledge, 2007, 43.
