"Jim Dine: Drawing with Light" in Master Drawings

Posted on Thu, 11/10/2016 - 17:51

Article published: Tyne, Lindsey. “Jim Dine: Drawing with Light” Master Drawings 50.2 (2012): 211-230. Print.

Materials and techniques of Dine's Glyptotek Drawings

Jim Dine originally created his 1987 - 1988 Glyptotek Drawings to be used as positive transparencies in the production of heliogravure prints. Working exclusively in a variety of wet and dry opaque black media on translucent paper and plastic supports, Dine controlled the ability of light to penetrate the drawings through the careful manipulation of opacity and translucency. This original function of Dine's Glyptotek Drawings, which today are prized as stand-alone artworks, has never been discussed. In fact, some references state that the drawings were destroyed during the printmaking process. Through interviews with the artist, it was revealed that a variety of unorthodox substances were used to create these opaque drawings in combination with innovative subtractive techniques to allow light to pass through them. The drawings are a promised gift of the artist to The Morgan Library & Museum.