Curatorial Statement

Drawing in Motion is an exhibition featuring student work from Amber Tutwiler's Drawing II class at Utah Valley University (Fall 2020). This online exhibition was built in response to the pandemic. If this were a normal situation, we would all be in a classroom making physical work – but this is not a normal situation. Our final project required a different language. As such, these drawings have situated themselves in the digital realm in the form of GIFs (Graphics Interchange Format). Historically, GIFs were created to fill the need for a more compressed moving-image. These digital flipbooks are like capsules that contain consolidated gestures; their effectiveness is in their brevity. On the negative, GIFs can condone a "culture of distraction" (Hampus Hagman) – but they can also provide respite, humor, intimacy, and community. Ultimately, these works are designed to probe at the definition of drawing while addressing the ways that the pandemic has shaped our relationship to digital spaces, nature, each other, and ourselves.

Selected Work