Extended through April 2, 2016
Works Exhibited
About
Prototypology explores research and development in the work of thirty contemporary artists, tracing the evolution from idea to finished artwork through drawings, archives, maquettes, and bricolage. In doing so the exhibition establishes a typology of diverse drafts.
The studio is a liminal zone for sourcing, modifying, and testing. Derived from the Italian word schizzare (to splash), a “sketch” represents the initial impulse from mind to hand, the developmental process whereby form begins to emerge. In the laboratory of the studio, bricolage is often used as an instinctual method in the construction of prototypes.
The exhibition includes new works and archival material from Michael Heizer, Takashi Murakami, Albert Oehlen, and Robert Therrien, among other artists. Studies for sculptures by Dan Graham, Claes Oldenburg, Tatiana Trouvé, and Rachel Whiteread reveal moments of process that lead to epiphanies. Monumental, civic, everyday, and otherworldly gestures are visible in a range of preparatory drawings and proposals.
These varied forms represent important instants of mutation via trial and error—in essence, the risk of experimentation that typifies the artist’s quest. Through sketches both graphic and sculptural, the process behind each artist’s production finds form.
Featuring works by Vladimir Arkhipov, Richard Artschwager, Nina Beier, Will Boone, Mike Bouchet, Chris Burden, Jason Dodge, Aleksandra Domanović, Dan Graham, Loris Gréaud, Michael Heizer, Carsten Höller, Thomas Houseago, Allan McCollum, Takashi Murakami, Albert Oehlen, Claes Oldenburg, Steven Parrino, Giuseppe Penone, Kirsten Pieroth, Ry Rocklen, Nancy Rubins, Arcangelo Sassolino, David Smith, Rudolf Stingel, Robert Therrien, Mungo Thomson, Tatiana Trouvé, Cy Twombly, and Rachel Whiteread.
Prototypology esplora e svela la fase di ricerca e sviluppo nel lavoro di trenta artisti contemporanei, affermati ed emergenti, raccontando, attraverso il disegno, l’archivio, la maquette e il bricolage l’evolversi dell’opera dall’idea alla realizzazione finale.
Lo studio è una zona “di confine” dove trarre ispirazione, trasformare e sperimentare. Lo sketch, che prende origine dalla parola italiana “schizzare”, rappresenta l’impulso iniziale dalla mente alla mano, il processo di sviluppo dal quale la forma inizia ad emergere. L’artista, nel suo studio-laboratorio, usa spesso istintivamente il bricolage per la costruzione dei prototipi.
La mostra include nuovi lavori e materiale d’archivio di artisti quali Michael Heizer, Takashi Murakami, Albert Oehlen, e Robert Therrien, solo per citarne alcuni. Dan Graham, Claes Oldenburg, Tatiana Trouvé, e Rachel Whiteread sono presenti con studi di scultura che rivelano istanti del processo creativo altrimenti nascosti. Gesti monumentali, quotidiani, e mistici sono visibili nella selezione di schizzi preparatori e progetti.
La diversità di queste forme suggerisce importanti momenti di trasformazione: l’avventura della sperimentazione che caratterizza la migliore ricerca artistica.
Gli artisti includono Vladimir Arkhipov, Richard Artschwager, Nina Beier, Will Boone, Mike Bouchet, Chris Burden, Jason Dodge, Aleksandra Domanović, Dan Graham, Loris Gréaud, Michael Heizer, Carsten Höller, Thomas Houseago, Allan McCollum, Takashi Murakami, Albert Oehlen, Claes Oldenburg, Steven Parrino, Giuseppe Penone, Kirsten Pieroth, Ry Rocklen, Nancy Rubins, Arcangelo Sassolino, David Smith, Rudolf Stingel, Robert Therrien, Mungo Thomson, Tatiana Trouvé, Cy Twombly, e Rachel Whiteread.
From the Quarterly
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Behind the Art
Deluxe Photo Book
Sydney Stutterheim discusses Chris Burden’s Deluxe Photo Book 1971–73 on the occasion of its inclusion in About Photography at Gagosian San Francisco.
Behind the Art
Nancy Rubins: Drawing in Graphite
Filmed during the installation of Nancy Rubins’s latest exhibition, Diversifolia, this video provides a rare look at one of the artist’s large-scale, graphite drawings.
Cy Twombly: In Beauty it is finished
Mark Francis, director of the exhibition Cy Twombly: In Beauty it is finished, Drawings 1951–2008, describes the impetus for this expansive presentation, the source for its title, and details the stories of some of the works on view.
Cy Twombly: Coronation of Sesostris
Cy Twombly’s Coronation of Sesostris (2000) receives a closer look by Gagosian Director, Mark Francis. In this video, he discusses the history of the work, the myths and poetry embedded within it, and considers its lasting impact.
Nobuo Tsuji vs. Takashi Murakami
From 2009–11 the eminent art historian Nobuo Tsuji and Takashi Murakami engaged in a reimagined e-awase (painting contest). In this twenty-one-round contest, newly published in Battle Royale! Japanese Art History, Tsuji selects historical works and Murakami responds creatively. Round 6 centers on the Edo Eccentric painter Soga Shōhaku and his monumental Dragon and Clouds (1763).
Urban Light: A Ten Year Anniversary
Ten years ago LACMA premiered Chris Burden’s Urban Light, which has since become an iconic landmark for the city of Los Angeles. To celebrate the anniversary, we look back to 2008 with a conversation between Chris Burden and Michael Govan, director of LACMA.
