Accession Number
2015/2.88

Title
Study for the Great Escape

Artist(s)
Marc Quinn

Artist Nationality
British (modern)

Object Creation Date
1995

Medium & Support
collage and pencil on paper

Dimensions
16 in x 15 1/2 in (40.64 cm x 39.37 cm)

Credit Line
Gift of Leonard Rosenberg

Subject matter
The drawing depicts a flower enveloping a figure or perhaps releasing it. To the right of the figure, the artist wrote in pencil and then erased, "Hollow void in form of person" indicating that he did not intend for a human form to be there but rather an impression of where they once were. Quinn has done several works dealing with birth and mortality so the emptiness in the shape of a person could be another one of the artist's interpretations of the lifecycle. 

In 1996-98 Quinn made a series of sculptures titled No Visible Means of Escape. Each sculpture has cast of a human figure tied at the ankles upside down and the mold of the figure appears to peel out of it, becoming upright. This drawing could possibly be a preparatory piece for the series. Quinn's work often studies the relationship between people, science, and the environment.

Quinn's series can be viewed on his website:
http://marcquinn.com/artworks/search#tag[]=Escape&tag[]=Study&from=1994&to=2000

Physical Description
Pencil drawing of a flower enveloping a figure.

Primary Object Classification
Drawing

Primary Object Type
abstract

Collection Area
Modern and Contemporary

Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form. Keywords
biology
biomorphic abstraction
births
deaths
hollow (form attribute)
preparatory drawings