Free online programs are made possible by The Cy Twombly Foundation.
Education and Community Programs at The Drawing Center are made possible by the May and Samuel Rudin Family Foundation, Inc. Major support is provided by the Evelyn Toll Family Foundation. Additional support is provided, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, the Milton and Sally Avery Arts Foundation, and the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation.
DrawNow! Online! with The Studio Museum in Harlem
David Hammons, Bye-Centennial, 1976. Grease and pigment on paper, 19 x 24 inches (48.3 x 61 cm). Collection of Lonti Ebers, New York, Photography by Bruce M. White.
Join us for a two-part drawing workshop presented in partnership with The Studio Museum in Harlem. Inspired by the current exhibition David Hammons: Body Prints, 1968-1979, the workshops will explore Hammons's body prints, a pivotal series of monoprints and collages in which the artist used the body as both a drawing tool and printing plate to explore performative, unconventional forms of image making.
In this first workshop, teaching artist Blake Paskal will lead an interactive conversation about Hammons’s body prints. Participants will discuss the artist’s practice of embodiment and the ways in which Hammons’s application of his own body (and the abstraction and morphing of it) created striking statements about race in America. Participants will then further explore these ideas through a series of movement-based prompts that encourage using the body as a drawing tool.
In the subsequent workshop on Wednesday May 12, participants will have the opportunity to create their own body prints with simple materials found around the home.
Participation in both workshops is encouraged but not required. Participation is limited to ages 18+.
About Blake Paskal
Blake Paskal (he/they) is an artist and educator based in Brooklyn. Through both his artistic and educational practices he strives to hold space for ambivalence, to challenge the binary modes of either/or thinking that are ingrained in all of us, and to work through the "messiness" of human experience to find points of connection. He works as a teaching artist at the Studio Museum in Harlem and as the Programs Associate at Visual AIDS, an organization that utilizes art to fight AIDS by provoking dialogue and supporting HIV+ artists. In both of these capacities he leads programs centering queer, trans, black, POC, and seropositive narratives, and he seeks to create inclusive spaces that welcome the participation of folks both new and accustomed to museum spaces. As an artist, he is interested in how our bodies hold memory, how trauma and joy become physicalized in the body. The collaborative artmaking and workshops that he does seek to encourage the strengthening of somatic intelligence in himself and others.
Preparations and Materials
- Download the most up-to-date version of Zoom desktop/mobile app to ensure the option of virtual Zoom backgrounds.
- In lieu of the Zoom background, participants may alter their physical space withfabrics or paper.
- Heavy tape would be needed for hanging fabrics
- Journal or paper to write reflections
Documentation
The Drawing Center tries to share its programs as widely as possible, which means recording our programming and making it available online. By attending the event, you consent to audio recording and video recording and its/their release, publication, or exhibition.
Tips for a Successful Zoom Session
- Log in 5-10 minutes before the workshop begins to avoid any technical delays.
- Use a desktop or laptop for the best image quality. A tablet will also do, but on a smartphone, the image may be too small.
- Make sure you have a stable wifi connection before the workshop begins