Marking the Evolution of Drawing

The art of drawing changed after World War II. It was not the physical act of drawing that changed -- it's still fundamentally a hand-on-pencil-on-paper process -- but rather the intent of the person making the drawing. As successive waves of Minimalism, post-Minimalism and Conceptual art swept through the studios and galleries, they took with them drawings of graphic representation and ushered in an era of repetitive mark making and serial exploration of form and material. Notations: Contemporary Drawing as Idea and Process, the current exhibition at the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum on the Washington University campus (1 Brookings Drive; 314-935-4523 or kemperartmuseum.wustl.edu), examines the work of more than 39 artists and their effect on the evolution of drawing. Featuring more than 60 pieces by artists such as Eva Hesse, Mel Bochner, Richard Serra and Robert Smithson, Notations splits the transformation of drawing into the schools of "Repetitive and Serial Systems" and "Presentation Drawings and Proposals." The latter encompasses drawings that were not necessarily intended as discrete pieces of art, such as Robert Smithson's conceptual drawing for his earthwork installation, Bingham Copper Mining Pit—Utah Reclamation Project (pictured), but that are compelling as drawings regardless of nomenclature. Notations remains on display through Monday, January 7; The gallery is open every day except Monday, and admission is free.
Mondays, Wednesdays-Sundays. Starts: Sept. 14. Continues through Jan. 7, 2012