Gary Kuehn, Drill Drawing, 1972

1972

Medium

Ink on paper

Dimensions

45.7 × 33 cm

Status

In Gallery Collection

Collect24 Art ID

C24-155915

The "Drill Drawings" are a series of works in which Kuehn consciously relinquishes control and raises questions of autonomy. He uses brushes as attachments for a drill and allows the machine's power to determine the path of the black paint across the paper. The boundary between artist and machine becomes blurred and it is unclear whether Kuehn's body becomes the stabilizing tool of the drill or whether he directs the machine itself. In contrast to Kuehn's "Gesture Project", in which the limits of his own body raise questions about freedom, the "Drill Drawings" reveal a gestural movement that is seemingly detached from subjective will. The "Drill Drawings" not only challenge the artist to give up control, but also reflect constraints, norms and external forces that arise in social dynamics. The process in which Kuehn frees himself from the independent, controlled form and creates space for the autonomy of material and tools reflects the escape from social structures in favor of individual freedom.