Drawing and Graphic Art

The term “drawing” underwent a fundamental transformation in the last century. Art movements like Surrealism and Dada initiated intense experimentation with unaccustomed drawing media and backgrounds. Drawing’s often subordinate role, for example as studies or sketches for painting, was thereby questioned and the possibility of this medium’s equal status with the established forms of artistic expression (like painting) was suggested.

This development also continued later, for example in Concept and Minimal Art. The simultaneous appearance of the New Media from the early 1960s to the present made the realization of drawing visible in these new media contexts, including as the documentation of diverse draftsmanlike expressions. A wide range of drawing materials was thereby used. More and more frequently, real space (including landscape as space) and virtual space replaces the sheet of paper.