Installing Sol LeWitt’s “Wall Drawing No. 3” at the Hirshhorn’s “Panza Collection” exhibit took a lot more than just a hammer and a nail. Specifically, it took ladders, levels, many hours’ labor by skilled draftsmen Roland Lusk and Lacey Fekishazy and a lot of pencils.

LeWitt, who died in 2007, began in 1968 to draw directly on walls rather than on paper. A few years later, he began including instructions with his drawings, so they could “executed” by others, the way a composer writes scores for other musicians to perform.  “The artist must allow various interpretations on his plan,” LeWitt wrote. “Each person draws a line differently, and each person understands words differently.”  Dimensions of LeWitt’s wall drawings vary, and some decisions are left up to the draftsmen.