Exhibit dates: Nov 2, 2009 - Jan 29, 2010

by Sanda Iliescu, Associate Professor of Art and Architecture

During her visit to my studio earlier this fall, Dean Kim Tanzer described the works selected for this show as “all about lines and about connections.” Indeed, the making and remaking of connections through structured lines is at the heart of these pieces.

The word line, however, in this exhibit means more than one thing. In “Poem Drawings,” a series inspired by a Wallace Stevens poem, lines represent the handwritten lines in the stanzas of a poem. In “Leftover Landscapes,” collages that incorporate detritus from the process of making “Poem Drawings,” lines are threads stitching together collage elements. In “Lines of Grass,” lines are calligraphic marks defining edges of white surfaces. In “Onion Grass,” lines are the imprints of leaves of grass dipped in ink. In all these instances lines interact with an active ground surface. So while they have very different aesthetics–the gentle horizontal furrows of erased hand–writing, a stitched line in red thread, the vertical slot between two zip–lock bags–these diverse lines share a connective and grounding function.

A line reveals the motion of the hand: it shows the hand’s slowness or swiftness, its assurance or timidity. A line can paradoxically suggest both change and continuity, both movement and stillness. It can also make visible connections among different stages in the drawing process. An artist might begin and finish a drawing within a few minutes or continue to draw on the same sheet for many years. For this reason, a drawn or painted line recalls another line: the uneven, unpredictable thread punctuated by the hours, days, and years of our lives. I first made the two sculptural drawings “Katherine’s Book” and “Sol’s Book” in the summer of 1994. This past week I reassembled them for this show. These two foldable, flexible lines are both old works and new, temporary constructions.

Like some of the works shown in the inaugural exhibit, this new gallery space employs found materials. The new lights for the foyer are discarded fixtures from the Sound Lounge. Existing plexiglass cases have been fitted with new plywood backs in order to provide a secure way to display changing exhibits. The backing is recycled, composed of scraps of wood from leftover bins in our woodshop. In creating these cases I worked with our woodshop manager David Williams and Tom Hogge, a graduate student in architecture and landscape architecture. We envisioned the composition of each backing as a collage, and we hope that in the future artists displaying work in the Dean’s Gallery might be inspired to create works that respond to these old yet also very new wood backgrounds.

Credits:

I am grateful to the many individuals responsible for this show. Dean Kim Tanzer had the initial idea to turn this space into a gallery with changing exhibits. Working with Dean Tanzer, Alice Keys offered keen suggestions in selecting and arranging the works. Professor Kirk Martini took a beautiful photograph at my studio titled Stanza, which is included in the exhibit. Leigh Wilkerson designed the invitation inspired by Martini’s photo. David Williams and Tom Hogge constructed the recycled wood backings for the plexiglass cases. Abigail Whalen worked tirelessly and provided excellent suggestions during the installation.