Untitled
- Title
- Untitled
- Medium
- Marker on paper
- Description
- Marker drawing depicting a mother with baby surrounded by other figures and animals
- Year
- 1968
- Archives Control Number
- (Misc, 1960s), 1968-1
- Photo Credit
- Jason Cawood
- Exhibition
- At the Archway
- Selected by
- Andie Esch
- Exhibition Description
- In this vibrant drawing, Mary Filer illustrates the relationship between time and nature. She draws the eye in a circle, focusing on an image of a mother cradling her infant at the center. They are surrounded by other forms of life including ducks, dogs, cats, deer, and plants. On the outer layer of the image, Filer creates a number of vignettes framed by vines and leaves. Reading the scenes from the bottom left to the top right, Filer creates a story of two characters' relationship with one another over time. As the images advance from their standing embrace, they are drawn with less energy and movement, and more lines on their faces. On the top right, the two figures lie next to one another, drawn with significantly shorter and more deliberate lines than in the rest of the image.
- Why This Piece Was Chosen
- I chose this artwork because it feels human. Mary Filer gave this drawing movement, a heart, and a mind. It’s impossible to decipher the entire image from just a few glances; in order to fully understand the drawing, you have to follow its movements and let it guide you. At the heart of the artwork is the image of a mother and child, representing the theme of life that bleeds through into other aspects of the drawing. As the eye is guided around the outside of the image, a story begins to reveal itself. The two figures depicted in the bottom left corner of the page are gradually drawn with shorter, more intentional lines as they begin to distort. By the time we reach the right side of the image, the figures cease to exist and have been replaced by drawings of vines and leaves. Everything on the right of the drawing is pulled back toward the new life within the center of the image. The couple, like all parts of nature, have yielded to time, yet the cycle of life persists.