The Compulsive Line

NEW YORK, January 25, 2006—The Museum of Modern Art presents The Compulsive Line: Etching 1900 to Now, an exhibition of some 120 masterworks from the collection showcasing the recent revival of the printmaking technique of etching. On view from January 25 through April 17, 2006, in the Paul J. Sachs Prints and Illustrated Books Galleries, the exhibition comprises intimate and meticulous etchings by contemporary artists displayed alongside selected works by etching masters of the early modern period. Recent acquisitions on view include Trenton Doyle Hancock’s Bye and Bye (Nine Sad Etchings) (2002), a portfolio of nine works acquired through the Fund for the Twenty-First Century, as well as works by contemporary artists Julie Mehretu, Ernesto Caivano, and Dinos and Jake Chapman. These recent prints are complemented by works by such modern masters as James Ensor, Giorgio Morandi, and Paul Klee. The Compulsive Line is organized by Starr Figura, Assistant Curator, Department of Prints and Illustrated Books, The Museum of Modern Art. “It’s fascinating to see so many contemporary artists turning to the ‘old master’ technique during the current digital age. It seems to represent a return to hand craftsmanship and an intimate involvement in the process of printmaking,” said Ms. Figura. “Many young artists have found that the delicacy and intimacy of etching lend themselves well to their personal, even diaristic subjects.”

Bye and Bye (Nine Sad Etchings) (2002), a portfolio of nine etchings by visionary artist Trenton Doyle Hancock (American, b. 1974), is among the recent works in the exhibition that indicate a revival of the “old master” technique of etching. His idiosyncratic work portrays a crowded universe populated with an array of humorous, allegorical characters rendered in a densely layered, obsessively detailed style. Part of an ongoing epic of good vs. evil that Hancock has been developing since childhood, Bye and Bye presents the half-plant, half-animal “Mounds” as the tragicomic protagonists in a vast, unfolding narrative that weaves allegory, word play, humor, and satire into a tale of struggle, survival, and redemption. Kiki Smith’s (American, born Germany 1954) large-scale color etching Pool of Tears 2 (after Lewis Carroll) (2000), a work based on a manuscript drawing by Lewis Carroll for his book Alice’s Adventures Under Ground, shows how the meticulous lines of etching can be used to render animal fur and bird feathers, elements that recur in Smith’s works. Exquisite Corpse (2000), by Dinos and Jake Chapman (British, b. 1966 and 1962), is a portfolio of 20 darkly humorous etchings for which the artists took turns adding bizarre details.

Complementing the many contemporary etchings in the exhibition are older works by modern masters including Joan Miró, Edward Hopper, Jim Dine, and David Hockney. A group of etchings by Paul Klee (German, born Switzerland, 1879–1940), dating from 1903 through 1905, are what the artist considered to be his first independent artistic statements. Rebelling against the classical training he received at art school, he created anatomically distorted characters that parodied the aesthetic tastes and social mores of the period. The earliest work in the exhibition is James Ensor’s (Belgian, 1860–1949) The Entrance of Christ into Brussels (1898), another satirical image that was designed to ridicule the Church, the military, and the bourgeoisie. Ensor embraced etching for its potential to depict minute details, while also appreciating the possibilities that printmaking provided for disseminating his art more widely.

New Acquisitions and Works by Modern Masters Highlighted
The Compulsive Line: Etching 1900 to Now
Kurator: Starr Figura

Künstler: Trenton Doyle Hancock, Julie Mehretu, Ernesto Caivano, Jake & Dinos ChapmanJames Ensor, Giorgio Morandi, Paul Klee