Introduction
During the 16th century, a mineral was discovered in the fells above Seathwaite, Cumbria. It shimmered, was black, greasy and so hard that it could be cut into sticks which left a mark on a surface. It was named plumbago (Latin for lead ore) despite having no lead in it. It was in fact the purest and largest deposit of graphite found anywhere to this day. The discovery of this mineral was to radically change the path of European drawing with sticks of plumbago from Seathwaite being exported widely. Initially these were bound with twine but by 1565 plumbago held inside a wooden stick was first recorded – leading to the development of the pencil as we know it today.
In contrast to the two other exhibitions in this series, which reveal experimentation with a wide range of materials, Extraordinary Plumbago, homes in on the versatility of graphite - and how artists since the 16th century to present day have used it in diverse and remarkable ways. The definition of drawing being dictated purely by the use of specific methods and materials has long been left behind by contemporary artists; however, this week-long session asks what can be learned from the legacy of artists who restricted their choice of drawing materials to pencil or graphite on paper?
Participants were sent a number of paired images of drawings - one made by a contemporary practitioner and the second by an artist from another century. These pairings were selected for their synergy in terms of subject matter, purpose and methods: Thomas Gainsborough and Giuseppe Penone, William Blake and Vija Celmins, Anna Barriball and Samuel Palmer, John Ruskin and Rosemarie Trockel, and Jasper Johns and Giorgio Morandi. The paired drawings were used as springboards for discussion, generation of ideas and creation of new works. Dialogue on both appropriation and the copy of artworks, also formed part of the conceptual context.
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The on-line exhibition of works from the two other workshops in the in the series can be found at:
ART & ITS AFTERLIVES: Drawing with Fugitive Materials
ART & ITS AFTERLIVES: Would You Trust a Stranger with Your Artwork?
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ART & ITS AFTERLIVES: Extraordinary Plumbago is the last of three on-line exhibitions which explore ways in which a drawing continues to resonate after its creation and critiques the disconnected moments in the ‘life story’ of an art object. All three exhibitions resulted from intensive drawing workshops by AUB Professor of Drawing, Siân Bowen and participants included AUB postgraduate students, PhD researchers and guest artists.