Sublime Notions From a Species That Likes to Doodle.

Is there anyone who hasn't enjoyed making an abstract drawing -- an elaborate classroom doodle, a Spirograph masterpiece, a tic-tac-toe game? Marking up a blank piece of paper, even in these pixel-fixated times, seems an inherently human activity. But the stunning new exhibition of abstract -- or mostly abstract -- drawings at the Katonah Museum of Art reveals the elements of the sublime in this sometimes mundane pursuit. The title alone, ''Drawn/Taped/Burned: Abstraction on Paper,'' promises something special. And burning, taping and the usual suspects -- ink, pencil, charcoal -- are only the beginning. The show's artists, who range from megastars like Jasper Johns and Sol LeWitt to relative newcomers like Tristan Perich and Tad Mike, also deploy tea, dust, wax and tar. And their implements run the gamut from lichen to a computer-driven machine invented by Mr. Perich. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]