The Drawn Page

Twenty-six artists were specially commissioned to create new works on paper to appear in the pages of eight regional newspapers while the Museum was closed for renovation. With construction completed, Aldrich curators brought these original works together alongside their newsprint reproductions in the exhibition The Drawn Page, which was on view in the Museum’s Leir Gallery from June 13 through September 1, 2004, with an opening reception on June 13, 2004 from 3 to 6 pm at the Museum.

Conceived to continue The Aldrich’s exhibition program while the Museum was closed to the public, The Drawn Page originally appeared from October 2, 2003, to March 18, 2004, in the pages of the Arts & Leisure section of the eight Hersam Acorn newspapers. Each week for twenty-five weeks, a new work on paper appeared on a full page of each publication, reaching over 40,000 homes in CT and NY. The participating newspapers were The Ridgefield Press, The New Canaan Advertiser, The Wilton Bulletin, The Darien Times, The Redding Pilot, The Weston Forum, and The Lewisboro Ledger.

The artists invited to participate represent the complete stylistic range of contemporary drawing, including realism, abstraction, text, digital, and process-based work—Lester Allen, Joe Amrhein, Astrid Bowlby, Dawn Clements, Marsha Cottrell, Cui Fei, Amy Cutler, Linda Darling, Vincent Desiderio, James Esber, Maureen Gallace, Kojo Griffin, Marcy Hermansader, Jim Hett, Eva Lee, Sol LeWitt, Joan Linder, Robin Lowe, Frank Magnotta, Robyn O’Neil, Ed Pien, Imran Qureshi, Jim Torok, Melanie Vote, Doug Wada, and Wayne White.

Today, visual art is often confined to specialty publications geared toward those already engaged with the art world. The Drawn Page experiments with collaborations between Museum, industry, artists, and community by presenting art in a forum usually reserved for local news and advertising. When the modern newspaper was born in the early nineteenth century, prior to the rise of photolithography, printed images were hand-rendered. Early American artists, including Thomas Nast and Winslow Homer, provided drawings that were independent works of art not necessarily related to news stories. Today, drawings in newspapers are relegated to either the Op Ed page or the Comics section. The Drawn Page provides a new opportunity to connect artists with the public, stimulating an awareness of contemporary drawing and its possibilities.

Pressetext

The Drawn Page

mit Lester Allen, Joe Amrhein, Astrid Bowlby, Dawn Clements, Marsha Cottrell, Cui Fei, Amy Cutler, Linda Darling, Vincent Desiderio, James Esber, Maureen Gallace, Kojo Griffin, Marcy Hermansader, Jim Hett, Eva Lee, Sol Le Witt, Joan Linder, Robin Lowe, Frank Magnotta, Robyn O´Neil, Ed Pien, Imran Qureshi, Jim Torok, Melanie Vote, Doug Wada, Wayne White