Alexis Rockman’s watercolor drawings were the first stage in the development of the fantastical, imaginary world of Life of Pi, the 2012 Academy-Award winning feature film directed by Ang Lee. Lee sought out Rockman’s vision as an artist with a specific commitment to hand drawing to bring a human scale to the project, a sense of the material and the fortuitous that would come, for example, from the random bloom of watercolor pigment on paper. Though most artistic contributions to cinema are dependent on photo-realism or cartoon-like illustration, Rockman’s images are fluid, intimate, and dynamic in a way that only drawing can capture. The exhibition provides The Drawing Center with a unique opportunity to explore the relationship between visual art—specifically drawing—and commercial filmmaking.

Alexis Rockman: Drawings from Life of Pi is on view at New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA) from July 4–October 12, 2014.