The art world's newfound appreciation for drawing!

Click here to read an article about the returning interest in drawing within the "Art World." Thank god. It is about time in my books! I have always been a great admirer of preparatory drawings, etching and engraving (that are effectively printed drawings), and all the other manifestations of drawing typically on view at major galleries. But, as this article points out this is the first time in quite a while that some of the major players in the current contemporary art world are drawing. And that the drawings are standing alone as completed works. What is strange to me though sitting from my chair in a film production studio where drawing is still such a core element (usually limited now to the preproduction, concept design, story boarding side of things) is that respect for drawings as an end in itself is such a nouveau thing! Haven't any of these art critics ever read a comic book? Surely, the continued popularity and increasing sophistication of comic book illustrations attests to drawing's vitality as a creative force? In fact, I think it is the simplicity and immediacy of drawing that is often the appeal to the current audience. In the age of Black Berries and Palm Pilots drawings somehow represent an uncluttered efficiency. A directness that is very appealing in an increasingly complicated world. Okay, enough pontificating, here's the shameless plug: if you are ever so fortune to see a show of work by Galan Akin or Ben Reeves advertised, don't miss out. Some tremendous scribblin' going on with these two!