A new exhibition at the LeRoy Neiman Gallery displays cross-disciplinary works that are connected through a process of interpretation. Curated by MFA candidate Yujin Lee, SoA '15, “Drawing Show II: Connecting the Dots” features work from visual artists, writers, musicians, and dancers.
Lee's exhibition, on display through Oct. 2, focuses on the interplay between different artistic mediums. The project began by showing a painting by German artist Gerhard Richter to two writers, who in turn each wrote a piece inspired by Richter's work. The writing was given to two musicians, who created their own musical compositions, which were used to inspire three dancers to create choreography. This choreography was the inspiration for the works featured in the exhibit, created by 10 visual artists.
The idea behind “Connecting the Dots” is to create “a show that would, in the end, be a drawing ... of a concept more or less,” Lee said.
ADVERTISEMENT
“It was great fun...because we didn't have to wait for curatorial answers, we didn't have to answer to anybody, we just came together,” Lee said, adding that all the artists involved “were working on drawing that all felt very relevant to each other.”
{sidebar}
Lee began developing “Connecting the Dots” in early 2012, and the exhibit was first shown in Berlin in January 2014, featuring the same works from the writers, musicians, dancers, and visual artists that can be seen this month.
“We saw the proposal and we were so excited because we had heard about the show in Berlin when she did it in January
so it was an easy decision to have this in the gallery,” Neiman Gallery Manager Marie Tennyson said. “It is very cross-disciplinary, which is interesting.”
For the artists involved, Lee said that seeing the exhibit for the first time helped make them understand how connected their work was.
“They came to the opening and realized where they were in this bigger picture—they could really have this connection with other artists who were part of the show,” she said.
Lee said she found a sense of personal discovery as well by the end of the project.
“It was a surprise for me too because
even for the people who I already know, their work, I didn't know what they were going to produce for the show. So there was a surprise in that sense for me too, which was great,” Lee said. “I like the kind of collaborative process that is not so common in standard group exhibitions.”
For her, the unexpected nature of the show and the fact that it contains work by younger artists lend the exhibit a new energy.
“I want the viewers and the visitors to feel that these young artists, when they come together, they can put up this interesting show that doesn't have to be
selected by some curator or some foreign gallerist,” she said. “We come together, we feel passionate about it ... and we put this together and it's that young energy that I want people to feel.”
There will be a reception for “Drawing Show II: Connecting the Dots” Sept. 4 at 5 p.m. in the LeRoy Neiman Gallery, 310 Dodge Hall.