OCA drawing 1.1

 Before you begin your next drawing you should research contemporary artist Mark van Yetter’s 2016 exhibition at Kunsthall Stavanger, The Mere Knowledge of a Fact is Pale. Write a response reflecting on Mark Von Yetter’s use of a scroll format. Why do you think he picked a scroll format? What is successful about it and what isn’t? What would you suggest as ways of refining or improving this work? Can you think of another artwork where an artist has worked in a similar way? Compare and contrast the two artists’ work; how are they similar and how do they differ?

MVY large scale panoramic piece of remembered scenes, drawn from memory and imagination.  As remembered by a car or train journey.  From rural eastern Pennsylvania to New York City and then back again.  A total of 46 sheets joined together working from left to right.

The named influence of Robert Crumbs 1979 panel art titled ‘A Short History Of America’ is apparent.  A collection of illustrations depicting a timeline, with a social comment about the environment they depict.

MVY aims to inform rather pass a personal opinion on the scene, but the intelligent nature of the process encourages the viewer to experience the reality and then emit their own feelings about what they observe.

A scroll is a way to visually narrate a timeline.  A more traditionally sized artwork (large or small scale), forces the narration to exist within a condensed boundary.  Often limiting expression to a single opportunity, ie an expression on a subjects face, the still life items placed within the scene.  The colours or brushwork in a landscape etc.

With a long format piece the artist can express the narration literally frame by frame.  And the history can be either a series of seconds or spread over years.

An overall view of MVY’s art is one of dreams, events, characters, blending genres or portraiture, still life, landscape, etc.  Narrative scenes like theatre sets.  The scroll is a good fit for his story telling nature.

Im surprised at how a seemingly long flat composition can draw you in.  MVY has used tonal depth that gives a 3D feel to the work.  This further brings the feeling of being immersed in the scene, and connecting to the places and characters as you would in real life.  A visual timeline connects to the brain in a different way than a singular piece placed in front of you.  Like reading pages in a book you are forced to process a layered pattern of information, rather than one wave.

There are alternatives to presenting the work.  MVY has chosen a tonal, ethereal style of drawing, which is in contrast to Crumbs kitch comic book technique.  It would be interesting to see what alternative processes could be used.  Working purely with texture, colour, alternative materials.

It shows how the style relates directly to the outcome.  

Showing his scenes in a realist style, depicting the perspective of the streets, the characters, details of nature or familiar objects, resonates nostalgia in a photographic way.

And perhaps painting the same scene expressing the textural or abstract qualities would not do this urban memory justice.

“A region characterised by ugly highways, abandoned strip malls that lead from one parking lot to the next.  Development and Change are unstoppable”

List of Images

Cover Image Van Yetter, M. (2016) The Mere Knowledge Of A Fact Is Pale. [Drawing] At:https://kunsthallstavanger.no/en/exhibitions/mark-van-yetter-the-mere-knowledge-of-a-fact-is-pale (Accessed 05.01.2025).

Fig.1 Van Yetter, M. (2016) The Mere Knowledge Of A Fact Is Pale. [Drawing] At:https://kunsthallstavanger.no/en/exhibitions/mark-van-yetter-the-mere-knowledge-of-a-fact-is-pale (Accessed 05.01.2025).

Fig.2 Van Yetter, M. (2016) The Mere Knowledge Of A Fact Is Pale. [Drawing] At:https://kunsthallstavanger.no/en/exhibitions/mark-van-yetter-the-mere-knowledge-of-a-fact-is-pale (Accessed 05.01.2025).

Bibliography

Stillman, S. (2018) ‘In The Studio: Mark Van Yetter’At:https://www.artnews.com/art-in-america/features/studio-mark-van-yetter-63515/ (Accessed 15.01.2025).

Jones, H. (2016) ‘Interview With Mark van Yetter.At:http://mickyschubert.de/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/2016_Mark-van-Yetter_interview_Kunsthall-Stavanger_2016-.pdf (Accessed 15.01.2025).