Drawings by Joan Mitchell for Frank O'Hara's 'Meditations in an Emergency'

In the new issue of the Brooklyn Rail, Verbatim presents a selection of drawings from the Joan Mitchell Foundation Archives, originally made for O’Hara’s poem, “Meditations in an Emergency.” More on this folio:

...Mitchell and her colleagues were each provided with sheets of acetate, on which the dimensions of the printed page had been outlined in pencil, and “assigned a poem to illustrate as [they] saw fit.” Artists were allowed to draw in black, in sepia, or in both, using any medium that the surface would hold. Their drawings were then translated onto the printed page via offset lithography. This light-based process allowed numerous drawings to be layered, if the artist so desired, to create a single print.

Mitchell made at least eight drawings for O’Hara’s poem, “Meditations in an Emergency,” including the two versions that were ultimately selected for the publication and layered to create one print. These—one in charcoal, the other in sepia—are now part of MoMA’s collection of Prints and Illustrated Books. Two additional drawings, as well as numerous trial proofs of seemingly related prints, are now in the Joan Mitchell Foundation Archives. Whether she considered these drawings studies or alternate versions suitable for printing is unknown. All of these drawings convey a subtlety and depth of feeling absent from the published print.

See a few of these drawings now at the Brooklyn Rail.