Drawing on Imagination in 2012: "Masterworks on Paper"

Drawing Develops Contemporary Inspiration

Jan. 04, 2012

1:54 a.m.

The Milwaukee Art Museum's exhibition “Impressionism: Masterworks on Paper” leaves the city after January 8. I've walked the galleries four times and would like to view these masters' strokes once more before they disappear. When will I see these images and works on paper again? Breathtaking in this exhibition, the images defy those primary marks that were placed on paper. Who knew someone could confound the art world with a mere line? Drawing begins in the mind, when the artist sees something that ignites his imagination. He/she desires to commit that communication to paper, and share his/her vision with the world. Eugene Boudin's small watercolors, drawn and then covered in transparent color, reflect the seaside in the late 19th century, his miniature works on paper a recollection of the genteel past.<o:p /> A combination of an artist's lines and strokes on paper, whether white, brown or even cardboard, in charcoal, graphite, ink, pastels or watercolor transforms the interpretation of the subject material with the media's intrinsic qualities. Pastels provide luminosity and color, charcoal, monochromatic shade, shadow and value, ink, fluidity and variety in line. <o:p /> Each time I enter the museum galleries, something new waits to be experienced. Two illustrated letters by Edouard Manet that I only studied on a third visit are finally appreciated. Berthe Morisot's watercolors overshadowed these two tiny gems hung on an adjacent wall. Manet's text and quickly drawn images offer insight into the artist's personal art that varies significantly from his professional paintings.<o:p /> George Seurat's black and white Paris cityscapes fascinate me with their eerie atmosphere, contemporary, timeless scenes he illustrated from the City of Light. To the left of Seurat\'s pictures, images by Odilion Redon attract my attention on a second visit, and the third. His blooming bouquets in vases suspended on an earthy background transcend the still life genre. One tiny white dot, seen in profusion on the paper, represents a fleeting, fragile petal fragment regal in Redon's eyes and hands.<o:p /> Oil pastels float on these papers, the layered hues catching a luminosity that reveals the blush of a cheek or rose line in a lip. Whether I view Eva Gonzales two portraits of women or Mary Cassatt's, the lush distinctions of whites and ivories shimmer from within the frame.<o:p /> On one trip through the exhibition, I studied only the faces in the images seen in Cassatt, Degas, Gauguin, Jean-Louis Forain, Federico Zandomeneghi (an Italian Impressionist), Renoir and Toulouse Lautrec. How each artist captured a curve in a chin. eyelash, or wisp of hair with line and color amazed me. In Degas' Giulia Bellelli, the child's detailed and clearly drawn face centers the portrait, until peeking out from her dress only a stroke of black delineates a shoe. Or study Renoir's Portrait of A Young Girl, pure feminine innocence. Gauguin's Tahitian Woman blends exotic color and shapes, while Toulouse-Lautrec's portraits, including Woman Smoking a Cigarette, give dignity to those who possessed little in their era. The expressions in each face reflected a unique individual and story, while we see only the bare image and interpretation. These lines on paper, an artist\'s drawing, when deconstructed to it's naked essence causes the eye and mind to see a piece of distant reality. A clear example illustrated when Degas' few sensuous lines complete his drawing of a women bathing, washing her hair. We can learn from the masters despite our limited talents. <o:p /> Drawing began an eternal journey, started when prehistoric man inscribed those primitive marks on the cave wall, or perhaps on the ground, over 32,000 years ago. Those initial attempts to define, comprehend and record the world he/she lived in. Art partially descended from drawing, and over eons evolved into what we see in the museum today, and know as drawing. Viewed as more than merely the preliminary work before a painting, these marks on paper prove to be a painting worthy on its own. Drawing connects where art began and will continue to go. Artists might remember that observing the world with the simplicity to line will only enhance the painting, print or sculpture eventually created. Drawing allows you to really see, not what the mind thinks it knows or was once seen, but what the eye actually records through the instrument held in the hand at that moment when carefully observed. <o:p /> Take another stroll through the MAM galleries before the exhibit concludes this January. Be fascinated and then go somewhere quiet. Pick up a pencil, or pen, even a felt tip marker, and observe the world you live in, the people in your life, by putting them on paper with one line and then a series of lines. You will be drawing, interpreting the world, viewing a face, interior or landscape perhaps for the first time to discover and imagine something startling fresh from these artistic actions.   <o:p /> You will engage in interpreting life instead of only plugging in, and observe something surprising that will inspire you to act or think in another way, opening up your imagination. The act of drawing instead of the quality to the lines reflects the significance in the final work. Art, drawing and meaning ultimately merge in your own impressions. Viewing the world from a distinctly singular perspective so you, the artist, and then others will share in that vision. Enjoy doodling and drawing in the months ahead with best wishes for a most imaginative new year in 2012!<o:p /> The Milwaukee Art Museum presents “Impressionism: Masterworks on Paper” through January 8. Take a second or third look to inspire the year ahead. <o:p /> <o:p> </o:p> <o:p> </o:p>

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