Wall-to-Wall
Statement
Drawing is continuously being reinterpreted as an ever-important form of art and communication. From early childhood scribbles to notebook doodles, it has helped to present ideas that cannot otherwise be conveyed verbally. Wall-to-Wall, an exhibition of large-scale works, challenges the traditional use, scope, definition, and interpretation of drawing as a medium. The exhibition explores the process of mark-making and use of material – both in conventional and unconventional ways – to demonstrate that contemporary drawing “is no longer limited to the preparatory sketch or to pencil on paper.” (1) Instead, wall installations, drawings as sculpture, interactive pictures, and works on paper highlight the varying uses, strategies, and processes of contemporary drawing and draftsmanship. The monumental size emphasizes the over-all impact of marks as a whole, and at the same time, commands the viewer’s attention to the details, requiring one to take many approaches to the work.
Looking through the exhibition, one will notice an intermingling of themes and subject matter that weave in and out of the gallery spaces: works that are interactive, those that examine the intuitive and subconscious, and others that present mark-making as a form of mapping. These topics are by no means exhaustive in the realm of drawing nor are they meant to be presented as such. As Laura Hoptman writes, “…a form of drawing has arisen that…is attached less to process than finished product, that describes a specific object or state of mind, that maps a specific experience, [or] that tells a particular story.” (2)
In Jelena Berenc’s Body Drawing the audience is asked to actively engage in the artwork, inviting viewers to look through the individual sheets of paper and see the parts of her body that she has chosen to reveal. Likewise, Nate Sensel’s Ellipses layers are removed by the viewer in order to reveal the works underneath. In both instances the drawings are shaped and transformed with the assistance of the audience, allowing them to shape and intimately view the works.
Others like Kathryn Jill Johnson and Phillip March Jones explore the subconscious in a surrealistic, intuitive, and overwhelmingly formalist approach. Johnson, in Block Party, juxtaposes images that do not relate to each other, nor would they be found together in reality, in order to see how the characters interact. Jones on the other hand is exploring his inner self and revealing his hidden truths.
Many of the artist’s use drawing as a means of recording time, thought, and space. As Franz Ackerman states “…mental maps are two-dimensional equivalents of…thought processes rather than transcriptions of what…[one] sees or experiences…” (3) Mental maps are clearly the subject of artists like Colin Keefe and Michelle Dussault. These works range from the surreal, as in Keefe’s Isometric City Drawing to the physical in Dussault’s Hippo Camp. However, neither map is an accurate physical portrayal.
While the exhibition showcases works that at first glance may not seem to be drawings, it demonstrates the use of drawing as a foundation for broader reaching work. This exhibition presents twenty-five drawings, created by sixteen artists, which include installations, sculptures, and large scale works on paper. In organizing Wall-to-Wall, LAL sought to challenge perceptions of the medium and present drawing as an autonomous form of art making.
(1) Dexter, Emma. Vitamin D: New Perspectives in Drawing. London: Phaidon Press, 2005
(2) Hoptman, Laura. Drawing Now: Eight Propositions. Exh. cat. New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 2002
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