Wednesday 28 January 2009

Body Bent over


This drawing, despite lacking in detail, is one of my favourites. It was produced in the life room with a piece of charcoal that was attached to a long piece of bamboo. In this way, I was forced to give up a certain degree of control as there was a one metre space between me (standing) and the drawing (on the floor). I was unable to manoeuvre the charcoal with ease, so having lost the temptation to make a mark on the page which simply had an enjoyable sensation (the sound and feeling of charcoal against paper tempts me to curve, continue or thicken lines unecessarily) I used my clumsy implement to capture purely what I saw.

Being rather flippant about what I was doing, I was surprised at the outcome. Despite the lack of tone, the lines told a story of what I saw before me and in some places recorded the weight of the body. It took me only a matter of minutes, however, unlike some of my other quick drawings it does not seem contrived. The drawing is highly inaccurate and vague, but somehow captures the tension of the pose and in that way, becomes an accurate account of that particular moment.
I rarely have the confidence to record visual information with a minimum of means and this technique gave me an 'excuse' to do so and to let go. For this reason, I also see the drawing as a more accurate record of the way in which my eyes move across and survey forms as we were given no stylistic guidelines to follow in this particular pose.
The drawing is direct and honest. Its immediacy appeals to me more than any other laborious pieces I have produced.

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