Documentary Drawing in the 20th Century

• Applicant: Privatdozentin Dr. Charlotte Lerg
• Subject Area: Modern and Contemporary History
• Term: since 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 544904789

Documentary drawing generates unique material that invites historians to rethink their understanding of the visual history of the twentieth century. The study of what could been termed the “ocular-centric” century has for so long been dominated by photographic images. To establish documentary drawing within the discourse of visually in the US-context, the research project explores two related but hitherto neglected examples: courtroom-sketching und war art. The analysis of this rich body of sources takes a three-pronged approach: the first objective is to locate the production, function, and circulation of these images within the (mass)media landscapes of the twentieth century as well as recovering the biographies, social and professional contexts and institutional networks of the artists and their audiences. In addressing theoretical questions regarding documentary formats, the second objective is methodological innovation concerning familiar challenges in the field, such as subjectivity, affect, and truth. Finally, from the perspective of the history and sociology of knowledge, the research project asks what kind of information hand-drawn images carry and communicate and how they produce knowledge. Viewing documentary drawing as a social, epistemic, and aesthetic practice allows us to gain a richer understanding of the role of such images in the historical record of the twentieth century while also expanding our theoretical perspective on the perennial predicament of documentary media caught between art and evidence.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants