Text from Stanford.edu:
Throughout his long career, seminal California artist Richard Diebenkorn (Stanford BA ’49) always kept a sketchbook—a “portable studio,” as he called it—to capture his ideas. The books contain 1,045 drawings that span the artist’s career and represent the range of styles and subjects he explored—both gestural renderings of mundane, everyday items and powerful vignettes of intimate family moments. In the pages of these books, we see brief visual meditations upon vistas encountered through travels, carefully built-up studies that would become the large-scale Ocean Park paintings we know so well, and a multitude of renderings of the people who surrounded him over the years, revealing his fascination with the human figure.
After Diebenkorn‘s death in 1993, his wife, Phyllis (Stanford BA ’42), kept the sketchbooks stored in a cardboard box for years, uncertain if she would be willing to share such private artistic meditations with the public. In 2014, she decided that the sketchbooks should be seen and studied, and in an extraordinary gesture of generosity and trust, she gifted the entire collection—along with bits and pieces of ephemera tucked inside several books—to the Cantor Arts Center. The exhibition at the Cantor Art Center marks the first-ever public viewing of the sketchbooks. As the care and preservation of these books necessitates that they be displayed in cases, making only a single page or spread visible at a time, the Cantor completed the digitization of all twenty-nine books, making them accessible in the exhibition on touchscreens and here on the museum’s website. With these, one may now leaf through the books digitally and see every sketch in the order conceived, gaining insight into the way Diebenkorn experimented with line, shape, form, and perspective and creatively tackled challenging subjects.
Looking at the sketchbooks feels like revelatory access into the private artistic life of a publicly revered artist. The books are filled with stunningly gestural sketches of fragments from the artist’s lived experience. As Diebenkorn kept these sketchbooks throughout his life and career, putting one down only to pick it up again years later, they are undatable; and each turn of the page offers a total surprise. With the sketchbooks now in their permanent home at the museum, this exhibition hints at the rich possibilities their presence at Stanford will undoubtedly bring to bear. The collection is a treasure trove ripe for artists, students, and scholars of art history alike to explore deeply.[/vc_column_text][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”30″][vc_column_text]Click here to view Stanford’s organized library of Diebenkorn’s sketchbooks.
See below for a smattering of his sketches and drawings.[/vc_column_text][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”30″][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”2533,2528,2491,2515,2488,2473,2479,2471,2502,2475,2520,2521,2472,2470,2489,2476,2511,2512,2509,2546,2513,2549,2550,2551,2548,2507,2526,2530,2518,2531,2497,2559,2562,2560,2542,2552,2535,2498,2490,2534,2555,2527,2484,2524,2523,2563,2485,2503,2510,2558,2499,2561,2474,2537,2481,2557,2556,2492,2494,2505,2525,2478,2517,2522,2516,2543,2541,2504,2547,2480,2501,2486,2540,2536,2495,2539,2519,2508,2506,2532,2477,2545,2553,2554,2483,2500,2493,2529″ layout=”3″ gallery_style=”1″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
Day 13: Op Art Create a piece of Op Art, inspired by Bridget Riley. This challenge was dizzying! Here are a few from the dozens that were submitted. These really caught my eye.
Feet in blanket, drypoint and embossed chine-collé on 14×11″ Rives gray BFK. (The color is a little dark and dull in this photo, because the paper was still wet) An accidental print resulted in some body-less feet at the bottom of the page, and Nikki had a brilliant idea to add chine-collé to the empty …
Today is memory and imagination day in our 30 day creative challenge. This one’s great to do with kids! New Scientific Discovery Did you hear? Scientists discovered a new __________ . The scientific name for it is __________ . It looks like a __________ , it acts like a __________ , and it lives in …
In most dynamic compositions, the artist uses contrast and diagonal or serpentine pathways to lead the viewer in and around the painting. Morandi did the opposite with his still lifes. He grouped similar dust covered objects together to become one object instead of several interacting objects. He minimized differences to create a sense of quiet …
Diebenkorn’s Sketchbooks
[vc_row type=”in_container” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ width=”1/1″][vc_video link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9lRqt33-us”][vc_column_text]
Richard Diebenkorn: The Sketchbooks Revealed
Text from Stanford.edu:
Throughout his long career, seminal California artist Richard Diebenkorn (Stanford BA ’49) always kept a sketchbook—a “portable studio,” as he called it—to capture his ideas. The books contain 1,045 drawings that span the artist’s career and represent the range of styles and subjects he explored—both gestural renderings of mundane, everyday items and powerful vignettes of intimate family moments. In the pages of these books, we see brief visual meditations upon vistas encountered through travels, carefully built-up studies that would become the large-scale Ocean Park paintings we know so well, and a multitude of renderings of the people who surrounded him over the years, revealing his fascination with the human figure.
After Diebenkorn‘s death in 1993, his wife, Phyllis (Stanford BA ’42), kept the sketchbooks stored in a cardboard box for years, uncertain if she would be willing to share such private artistic meditations with the public. In 2014, she decided that the sketchbooks should be seen and studied, and in an extraordinary gesture of generosity and trust, she gifted the entire collection—along with bits and pieces of ephemera tucked inside several books—to the Cantor Arts Center. The exhibition at the Cantor Art Center marks the first-ever public viewing of the sketchbooks. As the care and preservation of these books necessitates that they be displayed in cases, making only a single page or spread visible at a time, the Cantor completed the digitization of all twenty-nine books, making them accessible in the exhibition on touchscreens and here on the museum’s website. With these, one may now leaf through the books digitally and see every sketch in the order conceived, gaining insight into the way Diebenkorn experimented with line, shape, form, and perspective and creatively tackled challenging subjects.
Looking at the sketchbooks feels like revelatory access into the private artistic life of a publicly revered artist. The books are filled with stunningly gestural sketches of fragments from the artist’s lived experience. As Diebenkorn kept these sketchbooks throughout his life and career, putting one down only to pick it up again years later, they are undatable; and each turn of the page offers a total surprise. With the sketchbooks now in their permanent home at the museum, this exhibition hints at the rich possibilities their presence at Stanford will undoubtedly bring to bear. The collection is a treasure trove ripe for artists, students, and scholars of art history alike to explore deeply.[/vc_column_text][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”30″][vc_column_text]Click here to view Stanford’s organized library of Diebenkorn’s sketchbooks.
See below for a smattering of his sketches and drawings.[/vc_column_text][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”30″][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”2533,2528,2491,2515,2488,2473,2479,2471,2502,2475,2520,2521,2472,2470,2489,2476,2511,2512,2509,2546,2513,2549,2550,2551,2548,2507,2526,2530,2518,2531,2497,2559,2562,2560,2542,2552,2535,2498,2490,2534,2555,2527,2484,2524,2523,2563,2485,2503,2510,2558,2499,2561,2474,2537,2481,2557,2556,2492,2494,2505,2525,2478,2517,2522,2516,2543,2541,2504,2547,2480,2501,2486,2540,2536,2495,2539,2519,2508,2506,2532,2477,2545,2553,2554,2483,2500,2493,2529″ layout=”3″ gallery_style=”1″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
Related Posts
#30SAL Faves: Op Art
Day 13: Op Art Create a piece of Op Art, inspired by Bridget Riley. This challenge was dizzying! Here are a few from the dozens that were submitted. These really caught my eye.
Some Pretty Paintings: Chine-collé and cold little feet
Feet in blanket, drypoint and embossed chine-collé on 14×11″ Rives gray BFK. (The color is a little dark and dull in this photo, because the paper was still wet) An accidental print resulted in some body-less feet at the bottom of the page, and Nikki had a brilliant idea to add chine-collé to the empty …
30SAL Challenge: Scientists have discovered a new ____
Today is memory and imagination day in our 30 day creative challenge. This one’s great to do with kids! New Scientific Discovery Did you hear? Scientists discovered a new __________ . The scientific name for it is __________ . It looks like a __________ , it acts like a __________ , and it lives in …
Day 10: Morandi #30SAL
In most dynamic compositions, the artist uses contrast and diagonal or serpentine pathways to lead the viewer in and around the painting. Morandi did the opposite with his still lifes. He grouped similar dust covered objects together to become one object instead of several interacting objects. He minimized differences to create a sense of quiet …