The Stairwell

The above sketch immediately drew my interest as I scrolled down the Google images. When I think of “abstract” images, I often conjure up images of colorful artwork with no recognizable pattern or structure. My Google search confirmed this for the most part. For instance, many images had bright vibrant colors or an arrangement of various shapes.

On the other hand, this image is different. In contrast, it is black and white and seems to be sketched, rather than painted or computer-generated. There are no geometric shapes that I can discern, but instead an array of lines converging in the same direction. The image, perhaps more than some of the others, appears three-dimensional. As opposed to a random pattern of sorts, the image is a reconstruction of a familiar structure: a stairwell. Only this stairwell is unfamiliar. It is uneven or unbalanced in that it stretches up yet down at the same time. And on that note, this image more than anything provokes thought. 
Why did the artist make this image? What is it supposed to convey? Is the stairwell going up or down? Is that a person scaling the stairs? Is the stairwell a metaphor for life?
These questions and more drive my curiosity with this image. There are no words, yet there is meaning and a message hidden in the lines of the sketch.