“Corpus Callosum” is a piece by Michael St. Germain in which 10,000 drawings are presented in slide storage pages affixed to the walls of the Atlantic Works Gallery. Each of the pencil on paper drawings measures less than 2 inches in height and 2 inches in width using the grid as a visual structure to organize time a...nd orchestrate the movements of the viewer.
Because his drawings appear to be simultaneously representational, improvisational and hypothetical in nature, St. Germain named his work “Corpus Callosum” after the bridge-like structure which allows communication between the left and right sides of the brain. Most of the sketches were completed on-site in downtown Boston with the idea of creating an extended work out of “quick starts” being inspired by an art teacher. The artist recalls that his teacher remarked, “You have the hand of God when you start a painting, but then you proceed to undo what you have accomplished.”
Interestingly, while closing in on drawing number 10,000, St. Germain became aware that his hand was starting to draw autonomously. Though select pages of “Corpus Callosum” have been exhibited at the Rose Art Museum and at the Boston Center for the Arts, this is the first time that the whole work is being exhibited in its entirety.
The public is invited to attend the OPENING RECEPTION on Thursday, November 5 from 6:00 to 9:00 pm and to visit the gallery during the following hours: Fridays 2 – 6pm and Saturdays 2 – 6pm. The public is also invited to attend the Atlantic Works Gallery’s monthly THIRD THURSDAY SHINDIG on Thursday, November 19 from 6:00 to 9:00 pm.
To schedule a private press viewing and interview at a more convenient time, please contact Laura Rollins, 617.877.8249.