#proofbkm

[brooklynmuseum]

Robert Longo’s charcoal drawings resist traditional expectations of medium. His process often begins with a photographic image found online, which he will amplify, re-compose, or juxtapose with other images before translating into charcoal. In layers of fragile black dust, Longo builds remarkably sculptural, meticulously detailed forms at an imposing scale unusual for drawing. 

The striking finished artwork is a meditation on how we digest images—and what they tell us about the world—using technical innovation to emphasize their power and complexity.

Posted by Sara Softness Process timelapse and finished photograph of Robert Longo (American, born 1953). Untitled (Raft at Sea), 2017. Charcoal on mounted paper, 140 x 281 in (355.6 x 713.7 cm). © Robert Longo, Private European Collection. (Process photos coutesy of the artist, final image courtesy of the artist and Metro Pictures, New York)

[brooklynmuseum]

Together spanning four centuries and three continents, Spanish artist Francisco Goya (1746–1828), Russian filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein (1898–1948), and contemporary American artist Robert Longo (born 1953) each witnessed a turbulent transition from one era to another and the profound repercussions of revolution, war, and civil unrest. Within a broad chronological framework, Proof traces the historical lineage of a visual language and artistic impulse.

Now in its final weekend, you don’t want to miss this unique exhibition. See Proof: Francisco Goya, Sergei Eisenstein, Robert Longo through Sunday, Jan 7.

[brooklynmuseum]

In addition to charcoal drawings addressing current events, Robert Longo frequently delves into art history. With almost forensic interest, Longo tries to access the process—and perhaps the thoughts and energy—of artists he admires. In recent years he has translated several paintings into meticulous black and white charcoal drawings both monumental and diminutive. He has also created drawings from the revealing x-rays—provided by museum conservators—of iconic paintings, like his haunting version of Titian’s 1555 Venus With a Mirror (top), showing an abandoned horizontal composition of a couple, complete with the nails in the canvas.

Posted by Sara Softness

Robert Longo (American, born 1953). Untitled (X-Ray of Venus with a Mirror, 1555, after Titian), 2017. Charcoal on mounted paper. Courtesy of the artist, Metro Pictures, New York, and Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, London • Paris • Salzburg | Robert Longo (American, born 1953). Untitled (After Gericault, The Raft of the Medusa, 1818-1819), 2016. Graphite and charcoal on paper, 5 x 7 inches (13 x 19.1cm). Ⓒ Robert Longo, Private Collection. (Photo: Courtesy of the artist and Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac; London, Paris, Salzburg) | Robert Longo (American, born 1953). Untitled (After Goya, Saturn Devouring His Son, 1819), 2016. Graphite and charcoal on paper, 7 x 4 inches (17.8 x 9.5cm). Ⓒ Robert Longo, Collection of the artist. (Photo: Courtesy of the artist and Metro Pictures, New York) | Untitled (After Mitchell, Ladybug, 1957), 2013. Charcoal on mounted paper, 69 x 96 inches (175.6 x 243.8 cm). Ⓒ Robert Longo, Collection of Suzanne and Bob Cochran. (Photo: Courtesy of the artist and Metro Pictures, New York) 

[brooklynmuseum]

Known for his filmmaking, Sergei Eisenstein was also a prolific illustrator and cartoonist. Before turning to film he studied engineering, then worked in graphic arts and theater production. For the remainder of his career, drawing was integral to his process of filmmaking; his rarely-seen sketches showcase his elaborate storyboarding, where he maps out each shot’s composition, mass, and rhythm, as well as sets and costumes.

Posted by Sara Softness Facsimiles of pencil sketches for Alexander Nevsky (1938) and Ivan the Terrible, Part I (1944). Courtesy Russian State Archive of Literature and Art (RGALI), Moscow

[brooklynmuseum]

Join artist, journalist, and activist Molly Crabapple on Saturday, October 14 as she sets her Artist’s Eye on Proof: Francisco Goya, Sergei Eisenstein, Robert Longo. Known for her illustrated reportage on Occupy Wall Street, the Greek economic crisis, and Guantanamo Bay, Crabapple will respond to the works of Francisco Goya, Sergei Eisenstein, and Robert Longo on view in the exhibition.

Part of our series of intimate talks by contemporary artists that illuminates our special exhibitions with fresh and alternative perspectives. 

Molly Crabapple, Audre Lorde - 'Your silence will not protect you.'

[brooklynmuseum]

The Brooklyn Museum’s collection includes a rare “trial proof” set of Goya’s Los Caprichos print series, the famed indictment of the superstition and corruption of late 18th-century Spanish society; thirteen are currently on view in Proof. Early impressions made before the first published edition, these prints showcase extraordinarily clarity and velvety tone. These particular examples were handled by Goya himself, as certain elements were later changed in the final version. His masterful handling of the technique comes through in dramatic contrasts between light and dark and many varied surface textures, hiding subtle details in the myriad shades of grey.

Posted by Sara Softness Francisco de Goya y Lucientes (Spanish, 1746-1828). Here Comes the Bogey-Man (Que viene el Coco), 1797-1798. Etching and aquatint on laid paper, Sheet: 11 15/16 x 7 15/16 in. (30.3 x 20.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum

[brooklynmuseum]

Proof asks viewers to examine how artists bear witness: how do Goya, Eisenstein, and Longo’s imaginative chronicles tell stories with non-documentary means? Goya reported, without experiencing first hand, the horrific brutalities of the Peninsular War (1808-14). Eisenstein’s symbolic imagery spoke volumes--here, abandoned boats in an otherworldly frozen lake, foreshadowing the epic battle on the ice of 1242 that “Alexander Nevsky” details. Longo, instead, uses symbolism to wonder at what someone else has witnessed: this decorative figurine is from Freud’s Vienna apartment—now a museum—which he fled in 1938 to escape the Nazis.

Posted by Sara Softness Francisco de Goya (Spanish, 1746—1828). Caridad (Charity), published 1863. Etching, drypoint, and burnishing of salt ground aquatint or sulfur tint; posthumous first edition sheet: 9 5/8 × 13 9/16 in. (24.4 × 34.5 cm). The Williams College Museum of Art, Museum purchase, John B. Turner '24 Memorial Fund | Sergei Eisenstein (Russian, 1898–1948). Still from Alexander Nevsky, 1938. Gosfilmofond (National Film Foundation of Russian Federation) | Robert Longo (American, born 1953). Detail of Untitled (Triptych: 3 Figurines from 3 Different Locations in Apartment 1938) 2000. Charcoal on mounted paper overall - 3 parts not connected: 87 × 30 in. (221 × 76.2 cm). Courtesy of the Artist.

[brooklynmuseum]

These images of menace retain a uniquely human empathy. Goya’s Spaniards huddle under blankets on a tree branch, likely representing the artist’s fear of King Ferdinand VII’s renewed conservatism, having abolished Spain’s first liberal Constitution in 1814. Similarly teetering between hope and despair, the iconic still from Eisenstein’s Battleship Potemkin shows a mother clutching her son, defiant against the Cossack officers and their civilian massacre. Longo’s destroyed Assyrian sculpture refers to an attack of cultural vandalism, but nonetheless offers a poignant personal detail in the top left—a figure in their house slippers.

Posted by Sara Softness Francisco de Goya (Spanish, 1746—1828). Disparate ridicolo (Ridiculous folly), plate 3 from the series Los Disparates (The Follies) ca. 1819-1824; printed 1875. Etching, aquatint, and drypoint. Princeton University Art Museum | Sergei Eisenstein (Russian, 1898—1948). Still from Battleship Potemkin, 1925. 35mm film, black and white, 72 min. Gosfilmofond (National Film Foundation of Russian Federation) | Robert Longo (American, born 1953). Untitled (Destroyed Head of Lamassu, Nineveh), 2017. Charcoal on mounted paper. © Robert Longo, Courtesy of the artist and Metro Pictures, New York