The Incomplete Historical World
Gregory Blackstock
Portable Works Collection
Drawings capture the precise classifications of creatures and plants.
This trio of drawings in a series by Gregory Blackstock reveal a fixation with the precise details of taxonomy: the colors and shapes of 24 types of carrots, distinguishing features of crows around the world, and markings of different “troublemaker” beetles. Each piece started with a shape drawn in pencil, then was outlined in black marker, and finally filled in with crayon or colored pencil. They were added to the Portable Works Collection via the 2020 Curator’s Choice acquisition program.
Blackstock was autistic and aided by his cousin Dorothy Frisch. His world “was made up of countless things which need to be identified, ordered, and arranged,” she says. “In his smaller drawings, one sees the autistic’s delight in repetition, even though in his mind, every color variation marked each item as being distinct from the other.”
While Blackstock focused intently on the details of his subjects, the details of his physical drawings were a lesser concern. He added unmatching paper to works in progress when he ran out of room. He left crinkles, smudges, and food stains unrepaired.
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A Seattle native, Blackstock (1946 –2023) was a familiar figure around town, known for playing his accordion at sporting events. He began drawing for pleasure in 1986 but did not show his work in a gallery for the first time until 2004. In the years preceding his passing, he exhibited his drawings regularly in Seattle and Austin, TX, as well as in Switzerland, Austria, Los Angeles, and New York City.