Steve Mumford "Drawings from America's Front Lines"
September 19 - October 31, 2020
Postmasters presents a wide selection of drawings by Steve Mumford depicting the Covid-19 crisis in NYC, the Black Lives Matter protests in NYC and Portland, Oregon, and campaign rallies for Donald Trump in Portland, Maine and Fredricksburg, Virginia in 2016.
For many years Mumford has been drawing current events on the ground, working from life, like the ‘special artists’ of the American Civil War, before cameras were fast enough to permit photojournalism. The drawings are often followed by paintings in the studio based on his observations. His work from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as from US military hospitals, Guantanamo, the BP oil spill in Louisiana and more have been published in Harper’s Magazine.
The similarities with photojournalism end quickly: a drawing takes time to make, and events change quickly. Thus, the artist must adapt the story he’s telling in real time. Mumford often adds snippets of ambient conversation to the drawing as he works. Sometimes the initial crude and fast drawing is enough, or there’s time to add ink on the spot; other drawings the artist works up with ink and then watercolor using his own photos taken with his iPhone while drawing to try to convey more fully the effect of the moment.
This is Mumford’s 7th show with Postmasters Gallery.