Drawing on the Elm City art scene

BY DIANA GREENWOLD

Past the faux Van Goghs of the futon store on College St., you may notice a small set of stairs. Descend these stairs and you'll find yourself surounded by Sol LeWitt's exhibit,Wall Drawings. The premise is simple: LeWitt set out detailed instructions for four installations to be drawn with magic marker onto the walls of (Untitled) Artspace, a gallery owned by Yale. Program Director Karen Dow, in collaboration with one of Yale's President's Public Service Fellows, Jamie Ursic, chose 12 high school students to execute LeWitt's directions. In addition to renting out the gallery for free, Yale also participates in several other programs within the greater New Haven art community.

CLAIRE CONLY/YH Sol LeWitt's exhibit closes this Saturday.

LeWitt has previously designed projects in collaboration with professional artists and high school students from Loomis Chaffe and Andover. This project is unique, however, because it draws students from several inner city high schools in New Haven.

Some may be skeptical about LeWitt's hands-off approach to his installation, or question the validity of art drawn with markers onto white walls. But as Bernard Hanson, the former dean of the Hartford Art School recommends in the catalog, "Try it, you'll like it." Indeed, some parts of the installation initially appear rudimentary on their own. Their combined effect, however, is actually quite striking. LeWitt's directions are written in pencil next to each of the four pieces and include such instructions as, "A black not straight (line) is drawn at approximately the center of the wall horizontally from side to side. Alternately red, yellow, and blue lines are drawn above and below the black line to the top and bottom of the wall."

One might think instructions for straight lines on walls would be constraining, but the directives provide great scope for creativity and produce several visually complex images. As Hanson notes, "The instructions must be followed, as in baking a cake, but the drawing will not be dry and mechanical because of the individual doing the drawing." In my favorite panel, students had to place 100 points on the wall and then connect all points to each other with straight lines. The result is a mesmerizing web of delicate sinewy lines. Unfortunately, the exhibit closes on Sat., Sept. 15. But one good way to see it is to volunteer to de-install the project starting Sunday.

The exhibit is only the beginning of Yale's upcoming involvement with the world of art in New Haven. According to Nathan Taft in the Office of New Haven and University Properties, Yale has sent several President's Public Service Fellows to work in the arts. The program, established in 1994, provides undergraduates with $400 a week and graduate students with $450 to pursue programs that benefit the New Haven area. Students have worked on a variety of art-related projects, such as helping to re-design the Dwight neighborhood and cataloguing public arts projects for the Arts Council of New Haven.

In the near future, (Untitled) Artspace will be involved in the fourth annual City Wide Open Studios, which provides free space to artists who do not have the funds to rent their own studios. The public is also welcome into the workspaces of established artists. The main exhibition will be open daily from Mon., Oct. 15 to Wed., Oct. 31. Tours of studios across New Haven are also being held in conjunction with the exhibition on Sat. and Sun., Oct.20 and 21 and Sat. and Sun., Oct. 27 and 28.

For more information about de-installing the exhibit, contact Helen Kauder at helen@artspacenh.org.

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