Drawing Down the Moon
- – This is a past exhibition
The moon has been bound to life and consciousness since the beginning of humankind. It has served elemental and vital functions such as providing light and measuring time, but it has also influenced the more ethereal and spiritual realms of gods, myths, and magic. This exhibition operates at the crux of a lunar spectrum, between the lure and mystery of the unattainable moon and the eternal quest to conquer the moon in its material form. Drawn primarily from institutional collections in Los Angeles, the survey leads visitors through a panoply of objects dating from antiquity to the present.
Download the Hammer's free digital guide to listen to artists Francesca Gabbiani, Hanna Hur, Michael C. McMillen, and Alison Saar discuss their work featured in the exhibition.
Drawing Down the Moon is organized by Allegra Pesenti, former associate director and senior curator, Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts, Hammer Museum.
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Unknown maker, Japan, Moon-Shaped Rabbit, 18th centuryIvory with staining, sumi. 1 7/8 × 1 5/8 × 1 in. (4.8 × 4.2 × 2.5 cm). Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Raymond and Frances Bushell Collection -
Unknown maker, India, Rajasthan, Mewar, Udaipur, Chandra, the Moon God; Folio from a Book of Dreams, 1700–1725Opaque watercolor, gold, and ink on paper. Sheet: 10 1/8 x 8 1/2 in. (25.72 x 21.59 cm). Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Gift of Paul F. Walter -
Alison Saar, Eclipse, 2017Etching, aquatint. Sheet: 18 × 18 in. (45.7 × 45.7 cm). UCLA Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts, Hammer Museum. Purchased with funds provided by the Marcia Weisman Endowment Fund © 2017 Alison Saar -
Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, Ushiwaka and Benkei Dueling on Gojo Bridge or Gojo Bridge, from the Life of Yoshitsune, 1881.Color woodcut. Sheet: 14 × 27 15/16 in. (35.6 × 71 cm). UCLA Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts, Hammer Museum. The Eugene L. and Davida R. Trope Collection -
Caspar David Friedrich, A Walk at Dusk, ca. 1830–35.Oil on canvas. 13 1/4 × 17 in. (33.7 × 43.2 cm). The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles -
Vassily Kandinsky, Heavy Circles, 1927Oil on canvas. 22 1/2 × 20 1/2 in. (57.2 × 52.1 cm). Norton Simon Museum, The Blue Four Galka Scheyer Collection -
Betye Saar, Nine Mojo Secrets, 1971Wood, paper, acrylic paint, fabric, glass, feathers, yarn, metal, beads, plastic objects. 49 3/4 × 23 1/2 × 1 3/4 in. (126.4 × 59.7 × 4.4 cm). California African American Museum. Collection of Friends, The foundation of the California African American museum. CAAM foundation purchase with funds provided by the City of Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department © 1971 Betye Saar -
![A square, geometric print of a circlemade of gold dots sits on a background of black-and-white spots]()
Zarina, Untitled, 2015Woodcut printed on BFK light paper collaged with pewter leaf and printed black paper mounted on Somerset Antique paper. Sheet: 23 1/2 × 22 in. (59.7 × 55.9 cm). UCLA Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts, Hammer Museum. Purchased with funds provided by the Helga K. and Walter Oppenheimer Acquisition Fund © Zarina; Courtesy of the artist and Luhring Augustine, New York. Photo: Farzad Owrang -
Drawing Down the Moon, installation viewHammer Museum, June 19–September 11, 2022. Photo: Charles White-JWPictures.com -
Drawing Down the Moon, installation viewHammer Museum, June 19–September 11, 2022. Photo: Charles White-JWPictures.com -
Drawing Down the Moon, installation viewHammer Museum, June 19–September 11, 2022. Photo: Charles White-JWPictures.com -
![View of a gallery with artworks in a variety of media]()
Drawing Down the Moon, installation viewHammer Museum, June 19–September 11, 2022. Photo: Charles White-JWPictures.com -
![View of a gallery with artworks in a variety of media]()
Drawing Down the Moon, installation viewHammer Museum, June 19–September 11, 2022. Photo: Charles White-JWPictures.com -
![View of a gallery with artworks in a variety of media]()
Drawing Down the Moon, installation viewHammer Museum, June 19–September 11, 2022. Photo: Charles White-JWPictures.com -
![View of a gallery with artworks in a variety of media]()
Drawing Down the Moon, installation viewHammer Museum, June 19–September 11, 2022. Photo: Charles White-JWPictures.com -
![View of a gallery with artworks in a variety of media]()
Drawing Down the Moon, installation viewHammer Museum, June 19–September 11, 2022. Photo: Charles White-JWPictures.com -
![View of a gallery with artworks in a variety of media]()
Drawing Down the Moon, installation viewHammer Museum, June 19–September 11, 2022. Photo: Charles White-JWPictures.com -
![View of a gallery with artworks in a variety of media]()
Drawing Down the Moon, installation viewHammer Museum, June 19–September 11, 2022. Photo: Charles White-JWPictures.com
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