Following on from 30 Lines in 30 Days, and with many people signing up for The Sketchbook Challenge, I was interested to see the current exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York:
On Line: Drawing Through the Twentieth Century.
The exhibition aims to challenge the conventional definition of drawing as a work on paper by exploring the radical transformation of the medium throughout the last century, a period when numerous artists critically examined the traditional concepts of drawing and expanded its definition in relation to gesture and form. The exhibition brings together approximately 300 works including the following that caught my eye:
- Brushstrokes Cut into Forty-Nine Squares and Arranged by Chance(1951) by Ellsworth Kelly – the title says it all! although I wonder just how randomly the pieces were assembled
- Interruptions à recouvrements (Disturbances through overlappings) (1969) by Vera Molnar -I can just see this with stitching markings;
- Nazca Lines Star Chart. Nazca Lines Southern Hemisphere Constellation Chart Correlation (1981–82) by Michelle Stuart which kind of reminded me of some of Lisa Call’s textile works;
- Written Language (line drawings), #V and #VI (2008) by Sophie Tottie ; and
- They Could Still Serve (2001) by Ellen Gallagher – a different take on the grid;
There’s also Anker, a web-like work by Aboriginal artist Emily Kngwarraye. You can view other works in the exhibition in the On Line Gallery.
Penny says
Thanks so much for the link to these images. I’d looked over the description of the exhibit on the MOMA site, but hadn’t seen this big collection of photos and descriptions. I especially like the Ellsworth Kelly 49 squares (inspiration for quilting there for sure), and love the Molnar also. Wish I could pop over to New York for the show–it’s not up for very long. I took a drawing class last year on “Drawing in the Expanded Field,” and we looked at the drawings of many of these artists.
Judy says
Hi! Brenda,
really enjoyed this exploration of the “line”.