Drawing on Location

The great cities are the ones in which you walk, says a Russian character in Sidney Lumet’s brilliant 1964 Cold War drama, Fail Safe. He was talking about New York.

Being There, an exhibition of work by recent graduates of SVA’s Illustration as Visual Essay MFA program, heightens that unique sense of time, place and, essentially, mood that can only arise from the act of wandering around the city on two feet.

“I feel such a rush and take out a sketchbook, gather materials, do some research on a place—and in the early morning just go out in the city,” says Paul Hoppe, one of the artists.

By really taking the time to look, these artists show us New York in its sheer mass and diversity. It’s glorious for all the variety; and yet, also simple. There are drawings here done at various cafes. Small daily pleasantries—like a cup of coffee with a newspaper or book, a chat with a friend—are highlighted in panorama drawings done on scrolls of paper, such as Hoppe’s “Amy’s Bread.”

The classic elements of the city are also rendered: its grand architecture and its artists. Nathan Fox’s drawings evoke the rough, raw motion and flow of street musicians. Nivi Alroy shows us the American Museum of Natural History in its capaciousness and the sense of mystery and wonder it conjures. Firemen also get a shout in the show, as drawn by Yuko Shimizu.

There’s an homage, too, to the invisible elements of New York, such as old, abandoned industrial buildings, the homeless and even the fading 42nd St. of old. Oliver Kugler portrays Alberto, a man from Puerto Rico who basically lives in a parking lot. It’s something busy New Yorkers don’t often think about, and Kugler presents it in a way that caught my attention. 

Near Kugler’s work are Brian Floca’s quirky tank drawings done at the 1st Cavalry Division Museum in Fort Hood, Texas. The images are highly sophisticated in line, yet still very playful in an animated sort of way. One drawing has Floca’s writing on the side, telling about a guy who came up to him and started chatting. “That’s a funny thing about drawing on location,” says Floca. “[People] feel free to come up to you and talk. A guy just came up and said he had this friend who owns a working tank on his farm. After WWII, the army demilitarized tanks and farmers used them as tractors.”

Aside from that pleasant little detour, Being There is all about New York; celebrating life here by recording it through art. “I think that New York is the best place [for location drawing],” says Carol Fabricatore, curator and SVA professor. “New York has so much to offer with all the diversity. I always say [to students], this is your excuse to put your foot in the door and ask someone if you can go in and draw. Just go for it. And they do.”

Through Dec. 16. School of Visual Arts Gallery, 601 W. 26 St, 15th fl. (at 11th Ave.), 212-592-2145; Mon.-Sat. 10 a.m.-6 p.m., free.