The 1980s: Drawing and Sculpture
At best a drawing should function as a pure drawing first, and only as a conceptual springboard second. I’m using concepts only as a good excuse to make a better drawing— a thing of beauty which can hold on that level all by itself, as a desirable object.
During the 1970s, Taylor’s drawings consisted primarily of studies for abstract, geometric paintings. In 1980, a trip to Africa changed his outlook on art, introducing humor and a new approach to materials. “Africa taught me about making do with what you have at hand,” he said. Five years later, Taylor stopped painting and shifted to sculpture and drawing. He considered his three-dimensional constructions—made of broomsticks, scrap lumber, and wire—an extension of his drawings. “This isn’t sculpture,” he declared. “It’s more like a pile of drawings that you can walk around.” Although some drawings functioned as studies, most are independent works in which Taylor expanded a sculpture’s subject into painterly compositions, enhanced with modeling effects and shadows.
Untitled (McGrath)
When he traveled to Africa in 1980, Taylor became fascinated with the conception of time he encountered, more fluid than the twenty-four-hour cycle of the Western world. During the following years he con- ceived several series of works in which he tried “to visualize time.” “I would like my art to be like looking at a clock,” he explained, “a combination of choices, always chang- ing, effortless, and irreversible.” The motif in the present work evokes at once a clock and a wheel, also a symbol of time. The use of pages from the New York Times Magazine reflects Taylor’s desire to rely on materials at hand, another lesson rooted in his time in Africa. “There is no trash there,” he recalled. “They use everything.”
Al Taylor (1948–1999)
Untitled (McGrath), 1982
Acrylic paint on printed magazine pages
Mounted on paper
The Morgan Library & Museum. Gift of Debbie Taylor; 2019.121
© 2019 The Estate of Al Taylor
No title, 1985
Al Taylor (1948–1999),
No title, ca. 1985
Acrylic paint on printed magazine page
Collection Debbie Taylor
Photography by Glenn Steigelman. © 2019 The Estate of Al Taylor
No title, 1985
Al Taylor (1948–1999)
No title, ca. 1985
Acrylic paint on printed magazine page
Private Collection
Photography Glenn Steigelman. © 2019 The Estate of Al Taylor
No title, 1988
Al Taylor (1948–1999)
No title, 1988
Watercolor, colored ink, and graphite
Aaron and Barbara Levine
Photography by Ben Cohen. © 2019 The Estate of Al Taylor