untitled (lines “y” from / towards the center)
2011_01_25
graphite on polyester drafting film 
42” x 42” (106.68 x 106.68)cm
Matt Niebuhr

On exhibit - March 2011,  Stumptown - on Division st.

Line: A geometrical object that is straight, infinitely long and infinitely thin. A line is one-dimensional. It has zero width (in mathematics).

If you draw a line with a pencil, the pencil mark has a measurable width. The pencil line is therefor just a way to illustrate the idea of a line on paper. The line drawn on paper (or drawn on any other media visible to the eye) is always only just a representation of the idea of a line.

Again, strictly speaking, the idea of a line is that it has zero width and infinite length - in this sense we can not see with our eyes the idea of a line directly - only indirectly, as an approximate representation.

This does not seem to bother anyone… (me included - though it does cause me to wonder…)

Sometimes, just a simple line can be quite beautiful… my preference is to see representations of lines, drawn by hand.  Words are not literature until given a specific order, numbers are not mathematics…

detail: untitled, (where is love / where love is ?)
2011_01_14
red polymer lead and graphite lead on polyester drafting film 
18” x 24” (45.7 x 60.9)cm
Matt Niebuhr

Currently showing: Portland Love Show 2011

detail: untitled, (where is love / where love is ?)
2011_01_14
red polymer lead and graphite lead on polyester drafting film 
18” x 24” (45.7 x 60.9)cm
Matt Niebuhr

Currently showing: Portland Love Show 2011

untitled, basalt shard #2 - 4 segments
2011_01_09
graphite on polyester drafting film 
18” x 24” (45.7 x 60.9)cm
Matt Niebuhr

sometimes, one thing leads to another, sometimes…

untitled, basalt shard #1 - 4 segments
2011_01_03
graphite on polyester drafting film 
18” x 24” (45.7 x 60.9)cm
Matt Niebuhr

My son’s obsession with a large chunk of black obsidian he found, archery and arrow heads and trying to make his own arrow head (finger cuts and all - for which we had to put a temporary ban on the activity) is seeping into my head…   maybe a bit reflecting in my drawing…  

For me, it reminded me of my own curiosity of wondering what something might look like inside or beneath the surface - in section…

untitled (chance or a new form of life)
2010_12_09
graphite on polyester drafting film 
36” x 42” (91.4 x 106.7)cm
Matt Niebuhr

(A little introspection) I have come to believe (acknowledge is probably a better word) that most forms of drawing contain an element of the autobiographical - more or less. Perhaps some drawings are of a more commercial intent - though even those however are something of an expression - of value. That said, a drawing may resonate with a life experience - perhaps even yours - so much the better.  

This is one of those drawings that means a lot to me personally - it contains elements that echo around my mind, thinking about my own life - transference perhaps - but an honest inquiry into the questions of what matters in the daily goings on of life - is it the cost of oil, the value of an ounce of gold, your daily worth as represented in the stock market ticker, employment, shopping… hope - life on other worlds? How is it defined?  It’s an open question.

detail: untitled

2010_12_09
graphite on polyester drafting film 36” x 42” (91.4 x 106.7)cm
Matt Niebuhr

detail: untitled

2010_12_09
graphite on polyester drafting film 36” x 42” (91.4 x 106.7)cm
Matt Niebuhr

detail: untitled
2010_12_09
graphite on polyester drafting film 36” x 42” (91.4 x 106.7)cm
Matt Niebuhr

work in progress…

details 

Matt Niebuhr

untitled (over and over and over again)
2010_11_26
graphite on polyester drafting film 36” x 36” (86.4 x 86.4)cm
Matt Niebuhr

“There is no progress in art, any more than there is progress in making love. There are simply different ways of doing it.” - Man Ray

untitled

2010_09_18
ink on polyester drafting film 
18” x 24” (45.7 x 60.9)cm
Matt Niebuhr

After André Kertész - underwater swimmer. “….Everybody can look, but they don’t necessarily see….”

Not sure that I agree with the sentiment expressed. I think it introduces too much mystery into the whole thing, a way of protecting a presumed privilege of the photographer.

untitled (shimmer)
2010_08_18
charcoal and graphite on polyester drafting film 18” x 24” (45.7 x 60.9)cm
Matt Niebuhr

Continuation of the shimmer series on drafting film. This is drawn on both sides creating more layering. The film allows for more finely detailed line work and holds much less material than paper and the shimmer effect is finer, closer.  The smaller size is more intimate. Would be good to try this again at a larger sheet scale to compare results…

detail: untitled (shimmer)
2010_08_18
charcoal and graphite on polyester drafting film 18” x 24” (45.7 x 60.9)cm
Matt Niebuhr

Re-discovered another aspect of the drawing film which is the ability to place elements beneath the drawing surface while making the drawing that leave behind a trace - like making a rubbing over textured surface - an interesting potential…

untitled
2010_08_12
oil pastel, wax pencil and graphite on polyester drafting film 
18” x 24” (45.7 x 60.9)cm
Matt Niebuhr

and

untitled
2010_08_10
oil pastel, wax pencil and graphite on polyester drafting film 
18” x 24” (45.7 x 60.9)cm
Matt Niebuhr

But, together I think these work best:

diptych untitled
2010_08_10 / 2010_08_12
oil pastel, wax pencil and graphite on polyester drafting film 
18” x 24” (45.7 x 60.9)cm
Matt Niebuhr