Something in us longs to be the bride at the wedding and the corpse at the funeral.* That’s especially true when you stumble across artwork that in certain respects reflects your own direction. You’d think such a discovery would be a happy occasion, but it’s human nature to feel just a twinge of envy of someone traveling a similar path who has achieved greater recognition than you.

This may be especially true when your medium is drawing, and you wish drawing received more attention from galleries, museums, and critics––and then you see the work of a “hotter” artist currently getting the notice you wish yours had received back in the day. And wishing that person were you.

Such was my reaction to the excellent work of Antony Gormley, currently at The Phillips Collection in Washington, DC, as for many years, I developed a body of metaphorical figurative work in drawings and neon entitled the Everyman Series. Gormley is also a sculptor, but it is his drawings that caught my eye and admiration.

This spiritual dilemma is addressed in a Hasidic tale recounted by Martin Buber:

“Each of us is accorded a rung on the ladder of life,” said the Zadik. “Why, then, do we each desire the other person’s rung?”

                                                                   (*Alice Longworth Roosevelt)

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I have no images to post, as photos of temporary shows are not allowed, but Gormley’s work can be seen at this Phillips Collection website:  http://www.phillipscollection.org/exhibitions/Gormley/index.aspx

Titles of drawings that sparked especial recognition and admiration:

“Untitled,” 2001, monochrome aquatint etching

“Trajectory Field XI,” 2001, carbon and casein on paper

“Trajectory XV,” 2001, carbon and casein

“Mansion,” 1982, black pigment, oil, charcoal on paper

“Body and LIght,” a series of 33 drawings, carbon and casein