Rosalind Barker

Found Drawings  Paris              December 1st 2013

While wandering around Paris we stumbled onto these huge scale ‘drawings’,  Having only considered  the impact of scale and size a few days before, I was stunned to find such an example  of found drawings on  the outside of a building in Paris. I dismissed the statue which  reminded me of Daniel silvers ‘DIG’  and absorbed the  delicacy and beauty of the  mark making which implied they were monochrome pencil drawings.

The drawing mirrors the landscape of the adjoining open garden, a sanctuary within the bustle of the city. It’s site specific nature encompasses the architecture.

There was no information in the garden about the artists or intended duration of the magical project. It would have been good to know if this was the result of philanthropy or a funded site specific project run by a comparable French organisation like Art-angel.

I found them particularly interesting because of my thoughts about  a large scale demolition drawing  that I had included in my Learner Agreement .

• I would like to experiment with a large-scale work that will be a linear drawing in an area of the college due for demolition. This drawing will be selected from my current drawing experimentations with Craneflies.

To explore my demolition /archeology drawing I am reading  ‘Figuring it out ‘ by Colin Renfrew

Experiments on a small scale at home when our lean to conservatory was demolished confirmed that the residue and trace of the drawing is more enticing than the large original. In this case a rather rapidly drawn, crude image done at very short notice when the idea first occurred to me, based on my sketchbook drawing ‘Fishwife’.

Work in progress                                                          Remnants

MA Drawing Lab 2      Scale and Collaboration                                28th November 2013

We considered the exploration of scale relating to: the size of a presented drawing, the mark made, the impact of the environment where the drawing is placed.

The dynamics of group working on a large scale collective drawing and it’s composition were also investigated.

The first exercise involved creating several small drawing of a self selected subject within the tiny, tissue type ground of roll up cigarette papers for 10 minutes.

The attached images belie the delicate pencil marks and scale of the drawings.

The next ten minutes was spent selecting placement for the drawing in the room, to consider the effect on the drawings scale and it’s reading.

The next exercise involved creating a grid and enlarging the drawing to A1 by means of  folded squares. I found this a challenging concept and while trying to upscale and replicate the marks with in each tiny square I lost the perspective in the enlarged drawing and the squares failed to be coherent and meet on the individual edges.( I should have taken a photograph at this stage)

The final exercise was a collaborative drawing over the combined 8 x A1 drawings , amalgamated on the wall to create a new enlarged grid. We were asked to orientate the sheets in the same format but had the choice to add more blank sheets if we wished to get bigger. The only ‘rule’ was the tutor dictated media of charcoal and rubber.

I hadn’t engaged in a collaborative drawing on this scale before. No one spoke, there was no verbal discussion as to ideas about possible methodology or ideas. We all stepped forward and started working, silently negotiating each others personal space. I would love to have captured the movements as we all moved around the drawing on a video, the body language of such a mixed age, sex, cultural divide must have been extraordinary.

As a starting point I felt a strong urge to soften some very aggressive marks which had translated from a ‘soft’ tiny cigarette paper drawing by another student, to be harsh  rather ugly and violent when enlarged. Having started to create semi circles to soften the edges I then decided I wanted to amalgamate the composition into a coherent whole, so I started moving across the work making circles. Initially I made quite tentative movements which became stronger, gestural and denser circles. Quite a few of the group then developed the circles into individual ‘worlds’.

The circles did make the drawing a cohesive whole and lessen the impact of the grids but I do question if subconsciously I was trying to link us, rather than the drawing. Other students put ladders and road markings horizontally across, so I was obviously not isolated in my attempts.

I liked the quirkiness of some of he marks and the irreverence of drawing off the grid onto the wall.

The other group of 8 students final collaborative drawing.

All collective authors of both large scale grid wall drawings expressed satisfaction with the mornings experiments.

The final discussion was about the ‘grid’ as a way of understanding measurement and scale.How the grid became subject and and conversation in philosophy and art. How the  grid is now 3D and interconnected on the internet.

Researching collaborative drawings I found  Hewitt and Jordan in  ‘Drawing Now, Between the lines of Contemporary Art’ Ed: Downs. Marshall, Sawdon, Selby, Tormey.The following is downloaded from their website in ‘archive’ but it would not allow copying of the project images.    https:www.hewittandjordan.com

Hewitt and Jordan  The work-shy project

Collaborative drawing. Marker pen with stick attached, floor and walls of project space. 2001

‘The Work-Shy project was an opportunity to reflect upon and evaluate our joint practice away from public spaces. We turned our attention on our working process and considered the tensions that exist while working alongside other people – issues of communication, trust and commitment, and the need to recognize differences for the sake of a common goal’

Work-Shy – SLAK Guest Studio, Arnhem, The Netherlands. Aug – Sept 2001

Work-Shy – Transit Space, London, UK. Oct-Nov 2001

‘At Transit Space we spent 3 days drawing the interior and its contents – preparations for the show and the process of clearing up for the opening. Sharing one drawing tool we drew simultaneously to make a series of collaborative drawings, working directly on to the floor and walls of the gallery. This absurd act undermines the notion of drawing as a single person’s vision’

February 2014                                          First Year Theatre Design : ‘Collaborative Drawing’  Main entrance at Wimbledon.

What really resonated was the individuality of this collaborative drawing compared to our MA Drawing. Each person had selected a delineated space to compose his or her own addition to the ‘combined’ drawing.

Drawing Lab 1       First Drawing                                           24th October 2013

Moving from two to three dimensional drawing.

Considering the first drawing ever made of Pliny’s shadow and its move from a charcoal wall drawing to a three-dimensional clay relief on Boutades pot.

A morning conducting rapid drawing exercises.I selected a pencil and to work on a roll of lining paper as a continuous drawing exercise that I have not used before. Unfortunately 1 meter in I found the paper had been cut. The collective long drawings were clumsy to display and photograph.

Exercise 1

Drawing a line around an ornamental fish scaler without looking at it, so immersed I ran out of time to draw the object while looking at it thus baffling the group with the exercise 1 drawing.

Using line draw around an object without looking at your drawing 20mins.

This drawing lab connected with my current reading about Claude Heath one of three artists in  ‘What is Drawing’ documenting his 6 week residence in our Wimbledon drawing studio in 2002 (Lucy Gunning and Rae Smith residencies also feature)

Claude Heath had by this residency moved on from his primary exploration of drawing while blindfold simultaneously feeling an object with one hand while drawing it with his other. The process never allowed the artist to see the drawing or the object until the drawing was complete (Doesn’t say who chose the objects?) He employed a tactile sense in his draughtsmanship. The residency explored his unseen three-dimensional drawings of organic, growing, complex and evolving media-pot plants.

‘our eyes become the tools for feeling the textures of the world’ p34 Heath examines the location of sensory deprivation'( Ref Descartes’ Optics)

Later wondered if this must have subconsciously fed into my idea for drawing what was showing on the TV

Exercise 4

On one piece of paper draw a number of peoples profiles, one head relative to another  at 1 minute intervals.This exercise required intimate visual searching as both artist and sitter

Exercise 4.              20 minutes.

Exercise 5

I had packed string, cotton and wire for this exercise. I selected my garden wire and had a struggle to get the media to comply with my vision but the finished drawing had a pleasing interaction with the wall. Linear shadows added to its three dimensional impact.

I felt relaxed and free from inhibition at the end of the first drawing lab session.

That evening I attempted my first TV drawing which I presented with the first MA drawings see below..

Can I capture the fast paced movement of a drama programme. I selected a pencil and moved the remote control away to avoid the temptation of utilizing the pause/freeze button. (NB a different drawing experiment)

TV Drawing 
Ref :Klee ‘the infantilism of my work’ Ref :Claude Heath

In the Tv drawing the fast pace of the screen  movement, reverted my process back to looking at the TV while drawing the observed movement. Sketchbook.  

I selected a fine black pen electing to commit to a permanent mark making process. All mistakes will be integral to the drawing. No pre sketching. Work in a sketchbook, seldom worked this way before.

My review

Elected to be faceless so I am already introducing a narrative into the work by issuing questions of who this is. Could be male/female, any age, any era. Use of vintage/antique props and body positioning conjure glamour.

Not a particularly well executed drawing but my interest was held by the detail of the back of the head in the multiple reflections and trying to capture the weight distribution of her awkward pose.

Focused intently during the drawing, broken the spell of the ‘first’ drawing ? Locate a triple mirror and experiment with reflections of the back of the head.

2nd drawing

Working from the same photographic series I elected to use a pencil that invites the use of erasing marks.Starting with the weight of the woman and the extreme reflected neck extension.The glamour and voluptuous shapes of the surrounding props entranced me. All antiques of great value and longevity. They all float around the figure; again it speaks of narrative, illustration. I was rather surprised when my son’s 23-year-old friend announced she was hot ! Cross that I resorted to using the rubber weakened the original minimal reflection.

Felt on better foundations in group crit being able to present TV drawings from last night with the two figurative drawings.