Camerado, this is no book at Pratt Institute

Artists: Tyler Dobson, Jan Groover, Nancy Grossman, Gertrude Käsebier, Pope.L, Robert Mapplethorpe, Rose Marcus, Ryan Mrozowski, Marilyn Nance, Ken Tisa, Robert Wilson

Exhibition title: Camerado, this is no book (Pratt Institute Survey Exhibition: Part I)

Curated by: Jenni Crain

Venue: Pratt Institute, New York, US

Date: October 7 – 29, 2017

Photography: all images copyright and courtesy of the artists and Pratt Institute, New York

Pratt Institute is pleased to announce a survey exhibition presented in two parts. The exhibition, organized and curated by alumni Jenni Crain and Nick Fusaro, brings together the artworks of participants within Pratt Institute’s program over the course of the past 125-plus years. Through the artistically engaged motivations of these multigenerational artists, the two-part exhibition offers a unique overview of the evolving social and political histories since the institution’s founding in 1887.

Part one, Camerado, this is no book, curated by Jenni Crain, takes its title from Walt Whitman’s poem “So Long!” first published as the final poem in the third release of Leaves of Grass in 1860. The line continues, “/ Who touches this touches a man.” The poem in its totality addresses and possesses praise for and faith in authors of the past and of the future. It emphasizes the unification of a people, which transcends the singularity of a life span or the productions of an individual. It pivots towards the masses – towards a collective responsibility for progress. An artwork, like a book, is not a finite achievement of a single maker, but instead is a reflection on and message to the communal contributions of consecutive generations.

Camerado, this is no book, 2017, exhibition view, Pratt Institute, New York

Gertrude Käsebier, Serbonne, 1903, Vintage gum / halftone, 7 x 5 ½ inches, From Camera Work, January, 1903, 1:27

Pope.L, Failure Drawing #127 I Have This Fear…, 2004, Ballpoint pen, acrylic, tape and yellow post-it on paper, 8 ½ x 6 ¼ inches; Pope.L, Failure Drawing #333 Rocket Fumble Palm Trees, 2006, Ballpoint pen, color marker, acrylic and magic marker on napkin, 4 ¾ x 6 ½ inches

Pope.L, Failure Drawing #737 Landscape with Stain, 2004, Ballpoint pen and stains on paper, 2 3/5 x 5 ½ inches; Pope.L, Failure Drawing #252 Green Sky Red Mountain, 2005-2006, Ink and colored marker on hotel stationary, 5 ½ x 4 ¼ inches

Pope.L, Failure Drawing #1314 Dance, 2003, Ink, ballpoint pen and stains on paper, 3 5/8 x 5 5/16 inches; Pope.L, Failure Drawing #1358 Aerial, 2003, Pencil, ink, acrylic and white-out on verso printed paper, 5 ½ x 4 ¼ inches

Pope.L, Failure Drawing #285 Let’s Have a Party, 2004-2006, Ballpoint pen, ink, acrylic and stains on ruled paper, 5 ¼ x 4 7/16 inches; Pope.L, Failure Drawing #960 Worm into Space, 2004, Black marker and ink on hotel stationary, 5 7/16 x 3 15/16 inches

Pope.L, Failure Drawing #791 Graph Fall Mountain, 2004, Ballpoint pen and ink on graph paper, 7 x 4 ½ inches; Pope.L, Failure Drawing #291 Worm Thinks of Rocket and Rocket Thinks of Sea, 2003-2008, Ink and acrylic on paper, 6 x 4 5/16 inches

Pope.L, Failure Drawing #273 Fresco Monitors Yellow, Green, Blue Coffee, 2004-2006, Ink, acrylic, stains, hair, glue and collage on printed paper, 6 ¾ x 8 ½ inches; Pope.L, Failure Drawing #1112 Green Spot, 2004-2006, Ink, acrylic, and torn paper collage on printed paper, 4 ¾ x 6 ½ inches

Pope.L, Failure Drawing #321Fall into Descent, 2004-2006, Ink, highlighter and acrylic on napkin, 7 5/8 x 4 1/2 inches; Pope.L, Failure Drawing #923Snake on TV, 2004, Ink and ballpoint pen on hotel stationary, 4 1/8 x 5 ½ inches

Pope.L, Failure Drawing #100 Bomb Mountain, 2004-2006, Ink, ballpoint pen, acrylic, and watercolor on printed page, 3 ½ x 5 inches; Pope.L, Failure Drawing #107 The Night Laughs to See, 2004-2006, Ink and acrylic on hotel stationary, 5 ½ x 4 ¼ inches

Ken Tisa, Morning Ragas, 2014, Watercolor, gaouche on panel, 20 x 16 inches

Robert Mapplethorpe, Embrace, 1982, Silver gelatin print, 16 x 20 inches

Robert Wilson, A Chair and a Table for an Author (from White Raven), 1998, Brushed aluminum, distilled water, flowers, 30 x 61 inches (chair), 55 x 16 inches (table)