Some Poignant Images From the Past:Visual Lessons for Today

In the current economy, George Grosz's (1893 - 1959) drawings become more and more relevant (click on the images for larger versions):

The Capitalist


Greed
"Let those who can swim, swim, and whoever is too weak sinks."

Greed 2


Dining


The Homeless
"Getting By"

The Homeless 2
"Careful. Don't Trip"

You Only THINK McDonald's Fries Are Greasy

...Now it's visually confirmed. This guy drew a large portrait using a large size container of McDonald's fries:

Cy Twombly Would Probably Love Her for It

News Article

Cy Twombly, Leda and The Swan; 1962 Oil, pencil and crayon
on canvas 6' 3" x 6' 6 3/4" (190.5 x 200 cm)

View Cy Twombly's brief biography at ArtNet's Research Library.

Nancy Grossman

* I was recently reminded of an artist who gained notoriety in the 1960s and 1970s: Nancy Grossman. While she has worked in sculpture and mixed media, it is her drawings that intrigue me, particularly her "Gunhead" images. Even though her work was created 30+ years ago, these drawings are relevant to the present day. These drawings make us confront the violence endemic to ourselves as individuals and as a society and how intimate we are with weapons and the destruction mindset. In our highly technological age we are so intimate with these weapons, we are practically conjoined to or hybridized with these weapons--at the same time our awareness to their effects is distanced and blinded. As we invent more destructive and complex weapons, we move further out from intimacy with the victims. A soldier can bomb a village or town from hundreds of miles away and never see a drop of blood. More than any other situation, war exhibits man's inhumanity to man. In light of current events, Grossman's drawings become more and more poignant.

Gunhead, lithography crayon on coated paper, 1975


Liliaceae, lithography crayon, graphite, wash and paper collage on paper, 1973


Hitman, lithography crayon, graphite, wash and paper collage on paper, 1973

Nancy Grossman's biography at the Michael Rosenfeld Gallery in New York

Nancy Grossman on ArtNet

* Photo is by Richard Avedon. Nancy Grossman is on the right pictured with fellow artist Anita Siegel.

A Wild Bunch

The semester draws to a close. I met with my Introduction to Drawing class for the last time. Here is a picture of the Art Posse.

(l to r): Sheree Barnes, Katie Glenn, Jennifer Spain, Lindsey Rominger, Alex Garcia, Linda Luanglathay, Justin Mabie (back), Raul Bonilla (front), Margie Pritchett, Innie Stam, Olga Ledyan, Jesus Torres, and Michael Ferrell (not pictured: Denis Rubaloff and Claudia Lutzen)

Having this class has led me to reconsider my policy on coffee consumption. This group had a lot of energy for an 8:00 a.m. class, and I can only attribute it to the rush of trying to stay alive on 540 during morning rush hour and/or the consumption, en masse, of large quantities of java. Studio classes have a different dynamic than lecture classes. The group is more "in the trenches" as a team and lasting relationships are more likely to be formed. Feel free to visit my webpage of student work on the NWACC site to see some new images I've added from this class to my collection from over the years. Push the "play" button to view an automatic slide show. Here are some highlights:

View from the Lighthouse (An Homage to Picasso Project)
by Claudia Lutzen; watercolor

She Thinks She's Better (A Figure Drawing Project)
by Raul Bonilla; charcoal


Homage to Picasso Project by Innie Stam; colored pencil


Magritte Project by Lindsey Rominger; mixed media


Figure Drawing by Olga Ledyan; charcoal


Self-Portrait as a Simpson by Katie Glenn; acrylic


Self-Portrait by Sheree Barnes; acrylic

To see more pictures of the last day of class click on the NEWS page on my faculty webpage.

ART CLASSIC #1

La Source
by Pierre-Paul Prud'hon
c. 1801
Black and white chalk approx. 21 x 15

Click on picture for larger image.

Who knew one could capture so much with black and white chalk on blue-gray paper? Neoclassical artist, Pierre-Paul Prud'hon is a master of chiaroscuro. The more important thing to note about Prud'hon is that he is also a master of "touch." In other words, his hand has an sensitive empathy with the actual texture of the subject so that he can duplicate said texture with a high degree of realism. There are parts of this drawing on the outer edge that fade off into gesture, but the figure herself is positively alive with illusionistic tactility. The light and dark of the chiaroscuro shape her figure accurately, but it is the artist's touch that communicates her flesh. From the tension of her hand touching her face, to the natural roundness of her breasts, to the bending and folding of her belly, the viewer gets the clear picture of female flesh (as distinct from male). It is this delicacy and sensitivity that makes Prud'hon a master draftsman.

Drawing is often relegated to a secondary or minor art form. If you go to a museum, you will see rooms of paintings, but rarely rooms of drawings (unless it is a "special" exhibition). Even less common is seeing drawings NEXT to paintings in a museum (unless a drawing is a study for the finished painting next to it). Perhaps it is because drawing is often in black and white and people prefer color, that it has been condemned to be the "wallflower" of all the two-dimensional art forms. It is more often that colored pieces win the prizes in art competitions (unless it is a drawing competition, specifically). I remember being warned when applying to grad schools to put paintings and not just drawings in my portfolio because reviewers would like to see what I could do with color. I was also advised not to major in drawing because it "led nowhere professionally."

Sadly, my little wallflower is my favorite two-dimensional art form precisely because it is so primary and necessary for improving observational skills. I like black and white drawing because sometimes color obscures the facts about form and light. In fact, one definition of "color" is to "reveal BY covering," thereby making color a deception and a paradox. There is truth and simplicity in black and white. I guess what I love about this image is it reminds me that drawing is, in fact, an art unto itself that deserves recognition as such. It isn't merely something you use as a study for another art form, but it exists for its own sake as an object of beauty to behold and contemplate.

* La Source can be found in the permanent collection at the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, MA.

© Stephanie Lewis, 2007

Charles Sheeler

I was reminded of one of my favorite artists today. He is Charles Sheeler, an American artist who coined the term for his own art movement, "Precisionism." And precise is precisely what he is. I have always been a big admirer of draftsmanship, especially in drawing, and he is the Master. Here is a small collection of some of his works. I could not find my favorite drawing of his. It is "Feline Felicity," a gorgeous drawing of a tabby cat on a rattan chair. Some of his architectural paintings are often confused with some of friend and fellow Precisionist Charles Demuth's architectural paintings.

Charles Sheeler, Chartres Cathedral, charcoal, 1929


Charles Sheeler, Nude, graphite pencil on paper, 1920