What is a Line?

Exhibition

What is a Line?

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Curated By
Curated by Jennifer Farrell and Rebecca Schoenthal, with assistance from Lauren Patton and William Auten
Whether gestural or restrained, thick or thin, simple or complex, found or created, lines have taken various forms in modern and contemporary art. Inspired by the artist Paul Klee's statement that "a line is a dot that went for a walk," this exhibition, one of the Fralin's upcoming shows for summer 2015, will examine the diverse ways 20th- and 21st-century artists have used lines—both found and created—in their art. From wall texts to audio tours to exhibitions themselves, museums in recent years have increasingly encouraged their visitors to participate in the generation of their content. It is in this spirit that The Fralin invites you, the visitor to the Museum or our website, to select the works shown in What is a Line from the Fralin Collection. People had the opportunity to vote online each week about which works they felt should be included in this exhibition. The most popular choices will be shown summer 2015 in the exhibition, inspiring new thoughts about the richness of the Museum's collection of modern and contemporary works on paper, the diversity of the ways in which this most basic element of art—lines—have been engaged by artists, and the different experiences required by online engagement and in person contemplation of pieces in our museum.