Drawing is the entry point for this book's examination of a crucial moment in
the recent history of exhibitions. It is a vital piece of research, at a time when
the medium of drawing has never been so omnipresent, indeed has become
one of the most often-displayed mediums in contemporary art spaces. At the
same time, drawing surprisingly borrows the format of history painting, the
aesthetics of photography and its mechanisms from those of large installations.
Thus at a time when the age-old distinction between drawing and other forms
of art is tending to disappear or be forgotten, and drawing is displayed and
viewed on an equal footing with other artworks, a number of questions need
to be addressed. When exactly did the status of drawing change in the eyes
of exhibition curators and why did it do so? Since when has a drawing been
considered as a contemporary art object on a par with others? And how did
the medium become the vector of a generalized curatorial proposition in
Europe and the United States?
Julie Enckell Julliard (born 1974) is the headmistress of Museum Jenisch Vevey, author and editor (she is the editor of the Pierrette Bloch and Jean-Luc Manz monographs published by JRP|Ringier).
