THE BMA PRESENTS WORKS ON PAPER THAT SPIN, CRINKLE, PLUCK
BALTIMORE, MD (April 30, 2015)—The Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) presents an intimate selection
of prints and drawings by artists who each established a set of rules or actions to dictate their process in
On Paper: Spin, Crinkle, Pluck, on view through September 20, 2015.
The featured artists and their actions include: Tauba Auerbach (crinkle), Trisha Brown (spin), Mona
Hatoum (pluck), Emil Lukas (wrap), Gabriel Orozco (spit), Stan Shellabarger (shuffle), Denise Tassin
(wiggle), and Rachel Whiteread (squash).
Each work shows the mark or outcome of a specific action as opposed to a depiction of it. “The results
are radical, mind-bending, elegant, and poignant,” said Ann Shafer, Associate Curator of Prints, Drawings
& Photographs. For example, whirling atop an etching plate, the renowned dancer and choreographer
Trisha Brown captured the precise yet fluid footwork of a pirouette for a set of intriguing prints.
Baltimore-based artist Denise Tassin expresses “wiggle” with a beautiful drawing created by 12 night
crawlers covered in red food coloring squirming across the page. “Shuffle” is described by Stan
Shellabarger’s 10 woodblock prints assembled as an accordion-fold book, which reflects the combined
24 hours the artist shuffled on wood blocks wearing sandpaper-soled shoes.
On Paper: Spin, Crinkle, Pluck is drawn from the BMA’s internationally renowned collection of more than
65,000 prints, drawings, and photographs—considered one of the most significant collections of works
on paper in the country. Several of the works in Spin, Crinkle, Pluck were purchased with proceeds from
the Museum’s Baltimore Contemporary Print Fair, held every two years.
Curated by Associate Curator of Prints, Drawings & Photographs Ann Shafer.
THE BALTIMORE MUSEUM OF ART
The Baltimore Museum of Art is home to an internationally renowned collection of 19th-century, modern,
and contemporary art. Founded in 1914 with a single painting, the BMA today has 95,000 works of art—
including the largest holding of works by Henri Matisse in the world. Throughout the museum, visitors will
find an outstanding selection of American and European painting, sculpture, and decorative arts; prints
and drawings from the 15th century to the present; works by established and emerging contemporary
artists; and exceptional objects from Africa and Asia. Two beautifully landscaped gardens display an array
of 20th-century sculpture that is an oasis in the city. The 210,000-square-foot museum is distinguished by
a grand historic building designed in the 1920s by renowned American architect John Russell Pope. A $28
million multi-year renovation that began in 2010 has transformed galleries for contemporary, American,
African, and Asian art, and improved visitor amenities and essential infrastructure. The renovation will
conclude with a new center for art, creativity, and community opening in fall 2015 that will offer
innovative ways of engaging and interacting with art. Since 2006, the BMA has provided general admission
so that everyone can enjoy the power of art.
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VISITOR INFORMATION
The Baltimore Museum of Art is open Wednesday through Friday, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.; Saturday and
Sunday, 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. The museum is closed Mondays, Tuesdays, New Year’s Day, July 4,
Thanksgiving, and Christmas.
The BMA is located at 10 Art Museum Drive at North Charles and 31st Streets, three miles north of
Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. For general museum information, call 443-573-1800 or visit artbma.org.
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Media Contacts:
Anne Mannix Brown
Jessica Novak
Sarah Pedroni
443-573-1870