DRAWINGS ONE

With excerpts of a catalogue essay from the exhibition "Mindscapes: 104 Drawings" held at the New Jersey State Museum and the Minneapolis Institute.

Giant Holds Man in Right Hand, Moonlit Night

African Figure, Robot and Painting, Robot and Ship

Animal with Fan on Back in the Arena

Figure with Arms Up-Raised, Tugboat in Bay

Flying Shapes and Their Shadows

Grinning Dog with "Raggedy Ann" Doll, Clouds with Ears in Sky

Large Face Profile with Military Cap

Muscle Man with Round Face and Red Cheeks

Road Workers Hold Up Road, Wagon with Mask, Sleeping Man with Sombrero

Running Blonde Woman, Leaf People Gather

THE SHOCK OF RECOGNITION

Excerpts from the catalogue essay, "The Shock of Recognition" by Thomas W. Leavitt, former Director of the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University, for the exhibition "Mindscapes: 104 Drawings."

John Randolph Carter is a most unusual artist. Against all current fashion in the arts, he makes drawings that seem to spring forth from his hand without planning or conscious motivation. Although it might seem that nothing could be easier than to let the hand wander without guidance from the intellect, in fact, it requires a rigorous discipline somewhat akin to that required for the practice of Zen meditation.

Carter's drawings...are raw material for dreams and nightmares, and the shock of recognition can at times be intense.

Although some of the imagery (of his prints) is similar to that of some drawings, the spirit is completely different. In contrast to the drawings, the silk-screens are carefully organized and flawlessly executed, revealing the technical mastery acquired in Carter's years of graphic design. The contrast is remarkable. One can appreciate both the silk-screens and the drawings, but the drawings have a freshness and eccentricity that compel special attention.

(Carter) focuses on the discovery of himself, and is extraordinarily aware of the various forces acting upon and within him. The drawings comprise part of that discovery, and he is as amazed, annoyed, frightened, amused and delighted as anyone else by the images that appear.

It is that genuine focusing on himself that ensures the authenticity of his drawings, for it releases submerged truths of his personal psyche that in most of us lie forever buried under layers of habit and inhibition that we carry with us everywhere. Centering on himself, John Carter dredges up images that bring to our consciousness the fears and joys we normally hide away.