Joan Jonas: I Know Why They Left

Joan Jonas: I Know Why They Left, printed in conjunction with the 2019 exhibition at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, is an artist’s book featuring full-color reproductions of a new series of drawings by this seminal artist. As an Artist-in-Residence in 2017, Jonas was drawn to the vast array of mythical and archetypal animals present in the Gardner’s collection. Drawn from objects made of lace, stone, metal, wood, and ceramic, or found in tapestries and paintings, the animal figures allude to the importance of nature’s life force in the face of disruptive human presence. In this book, which includes a conversation between Joan Jonas and Pieranna Cavalchini, Jonas’s ability to conjure wonder, fear, and humor through poetic imagery continues to work its magic.