John Michael Kohler Arts Center The Drawing Season

“In a series of six exhibitions, the Arts Center illuminates the vitality and varied vocabulary of the art of drawing as practiced by contemporary artists. From miniature works of graphite on paper to massive gallery installations employing unconventional materials, these drawings are neither preparatory sketches nor pages from sketchbooks; they are works of art that stand on their own. Here is a rare opportunity to experience contemporary drawing as something both comfortably familiar and startlingly new.”

Upon hearing about the John Michael Kohler Arts Center (KAC), I was a little weary of making the trip. It is located in Sheboygan which is a bit of a trip for me from Milwaukee. Its not fair that this turned me off from it but, so it goes. After arriving though, I was extremely happy with the outcome. Aside from the outside of the building being very inviting, the inside was even more inviting and exciting. Everything screamed art and fun! Of course, after the hour or so ride, I had to use the washroom and was pleasantly surprised by the highly decorated washroom. Every tile on the wall had a different illustration and each stall had a different illustrated theme. Even the toilet bowls were painted with some sort of design! Aside from that, there was also this variety of electric lines flowing from the entrance to the museum into the exhibits. Parts of it attached itself to odds and ends like the water fountain, but these lines also led you to the first exhibit as well. ( later I realized these electric lines were part of the exhibit itself)

Anyways, I was there specifically to see The Drawing Season. As soon as I walked in to the exhibit my face was taken over with a huge smile filled with awe. I was completely taken back by Heeseop Yoon's piece. It was a larger than life still life that consumed the whole wall. It was surely a large drawing, but done on mylar with tape and attached to this huge wall. I immediately got unnecessarily close to the piece to investigate. From there, I allowed myself to explore the other pieces in the front room. There was one made entirely of pipe-cleaners and other materials reminiscing of summer camp youth that I also got very close to. Before I go any further, I must admit that I am always the kid in the museum who gets yelled at or kicked out for touching or getting too close to the wrong things. With that said, you can assume I really let myself investigate these works as much I could. I was very plesently surprised. Not only by the work, but the space itself. The collection in The Drawing Season was made up of several very large works. KAC's space allowed for this work to be shown and glorified in its space. Really, the space mimicked and complimented the work rather well.

Rita Macdonalds' Heap, another large scale piece, also caught my eye very quickly. It was giant and red and looked like a cloth folding in on itself. Heap really played with the idea of what a drawing could be defined as. The pieces surrounding it were easier to try to genre-lize as drawings because they focused heavily on the quality of line. Where as, this piece was made up more of larger shapes that formed lines. But then again, if the stroke of a line is increased, then it really does just become some sort of shape. That seemed to be the point of this exhibit though; to challenge the ida of what a drawing is.

Over all, I would recommend this exhibit to everyone and people of all ages. Its fun to look at, thing blow up with air, and its not something you see everyday. This exhibit has contemporary art that is more relatable than what most people perceive it as.

 

Still Life #12- Heeseop Yoon

 

Heap- Rita Macdonald

 

 The Line Unleashed- David Eppley