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Drawing Attention by Jeanne Claire van Ryzin Austin American Statesman 18 June 2009 |
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It's about the hand. And the line (curvy or straight). And about an artist making a mark that is distinctive and unique. Each generation of artists wrestles with its own particular creative concerns. Among the trends of the last half-decade or so has been a re-emergence of the art of drawing and a re-embrace of the sensibilities that drawing demands and projects: directness, intimacy, individuality and an immediate sense of the artist's hand at work. In art-speak it's called 'mark making' - the essential act of an artist producing the most elemental of artistic identifiers. Right now, you can make an afternoon of art-going around Austin galleries and museums by following the art of drawing. At D Berman Gallery, 'Drawn (Not Quartered)' features six Texas artists who pursue the art of drawing in different ways and mediums. Katie Maratta makes black-and-white one-inch-tall Texas panoramic landscapes in miniature detail. Jareid Theis builds delicate, ethereal layers by floating ink drawings that are on transparent vellum on top of sheet music. And the right-handed W. Tucker taps into his inner child by using his left hand to create very rudimentary cartoons on scraps board or discarded book covers. Drawing with his nondominant hand, Tucker says, 'rescues me from over-thinking the work.' Tucker's approach underscores a familiar refrain heard from artists who are delving into the new art of drawing: In our overloaded information age, it's easy to lose track of what's hand-made or what's made viscerally. Fascinated by the fuzzy intersection between the digital world and reality, Shawn Smith typically makes rather whimsical sculptures from tiny cubes of wood that are tactical, three-dimensional versions of pixelated images - 're-things' is what Smith calls his sculpture. 'I see (the resurgence of an interest in drawing) not as a full rejection, but as the opposite starting point from digital media,' Smith says. 'Drawing has "thingness" to it that's very important. There's a directness and immediacy to its physicality. I can put my hands on it.' Gallery owner Lora Reynolds has organized a group exhibit at her eponymous downtown art space to open in July that focuses on the ways artists assert their artistic identities through drawing and mark making. And Reynolds offers it as a respite from multimedia art. 'Drawing, as a medium, has always been one of my major interests in contemporary art and it feels like a welcomed contrast to the multimedia direction of much of the art made now,' Reynolds says. 'The immediacy and intimacy of drawing is interesting to me as is the way drawing slows down your looking.' Slowness, yes, and there's a certain honesty to drawing. too. It is, after all, something created by the fundamental act of an artist's hand and thus the antithesis of the digital smoke-and-mirrors of multimedia art. Then again, a part of today's resurgence in the art of drawing can be attributed to today's younger artists who were brought up consuming animated video of all sorts, particularly video games. So perhaps the path to understanding today's resurgence of drawing isn't a straight line. More likely it's an expressive one. jvanryzin@statesman.com; 445-3699 'Drawn (Not Quartered)' When: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays through July 18 Where: D Berman Gallery, 1701 Guadalupe St. Cost: Free Information: www.dbermangallery.com; 477-8877
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