Well known for his novels like Slaughterhouse Five and Cat’s Cradle, most people only remember Kurt Vonnegut for his brilliant writing.
And yet, writing is not the only activity that Vonnegut took great passion in.
During the 1980s, Vonnegut produced a surprisingly large amount of drawings for his own satisfaction, though very few were released to the public.
This August, however, over 30 of Vonnegut’s drawings were provided by his daughter Nanette for the exhibition “So it goes” at the Johnson Museum of Art. (Vonnegut attended Cornell and was an editor for The Cornell Daily Sun.)
These drawings, as the museum’s site states, offer “another way of getting to know this beloved, quixotic author.”
The entirety of Vonnegut’s drawings are done in felt-tip pen. Vonnegut himself stated that he found oils too much of a commitment and watercolors too bland.
Even with just colored pens, however, Vonnegut was able to add his own personality and style into his creations. His drawings frequently represent faces or still lifes, but are characterized by abstract representations.
Seemingly simplistic at a brief glance, closer inspection can reveal them to be startlingly intricate. For instance, a combination of colored triangles and rounded polygons come together to resemble a bespectacled man in one picture, while in another a series of loose, wobbly scribbles form a flower in a vase next to a window.
Others are simply just shaded curves and lines on a blank canvas, marked by a simplicity akin perhaps to the works of Piet Mondrian. Along with these drawings are additional pictures of Vonnegut and his family, letters written from and about him during his lifetime, and even an original script for his play Penelope.
A wooden bench sits in one of the rooms, a quote from Thoreau having been carved on its surface by Vonnegut himself. Several quotes from the author/artist are displayed above the exhibition, each yet another indication of the man’s sardonic wit.
Though it spans only a few rooms, “So it goes” reveals much about the famous American author and is definitely worth a look for any Kurt Vonnegut fan or art aficionado. The exhibit will continue until December 20, so there’s plenty of time to stop by and take a look.