Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2008 8:15 am
Ishtar, thanks for wonderful Bee story, I am going to enjoy the mulling of its portent.
As an artist on the rare good day, but a designer every day, the sketch and working drawing is never "art" or the object desired, but the bridge to my fabricator. The better, more beautiful, organized, coherent my drawing the better I am able to romance my cabinetmaker to "see" and capture my intent. My final drawing/plate is my membrane to pass on and through to the physical.
My hunch is the Shaman did not partake in the hunt, his work being done when he left the cave. Not even sure that the actual hunters had to witness the drawings being drawn to successfully bring home the bacon.
As to drawing....choosing not to include painting as its a more studied and layered process for a desired effect and affect, where as to draw is to CAPTURE the essence. All hunting implications intended.
Back to drawing.. which we think of being done at a table or desk and engaging muscle and neuro pathaways from the wrist down, sometimes elbow down. Thinking our Paleo forebeares drew from the shoulder down, which lights up a different part of the brain. A favorite art school exercise is to put the paper on the floor and tie your charcoal to a stick and let it fly, my personal experience was a flush of visceral excitement that had no comparison to the endless drawing of naked ladies (in class) for 6 hours a day. twice a week. The floor drawings were powerful, empowering, always surprising and never dull, not unlike stumbling on a world you didn't suspect existed.
With the advent of the computer, have been drawing with a mouse 90% of the time, not so much because its faster, because its not, but for industry file format requirments, manangement and ability to make small changes without erasing a weeks work. When I sketch, more when travelling, I continue to be surprised by the magic of what shows up on the page.
As an occasional guest lecturer at College Design Depts, I see the loss in form and quirky finesse that used to show up in the students work, most having never actually drawn to see their quarry, relying on key commands and mouse. When asked if they "draw", I often recieve the answer, "No way, I do it all on the computer. Then there the student whose work somehow stands out and when asked if they actually "draw" the answer is invariably yes.
Its been my experience that, once the neuro pathways of pencil-hand-wrist-arm-brain have been opened and exercised, you get to keep them and THEN can apply them to the device of choice. I lament the loss for future artists and designers of the access to the unbroken heritage from their Paleo-Ancestors that literally runs down their arms on to the page.(don't get me going about 3D)
Ish, being that the right side of my brain pays my bills, have never had trouble journeying. But have found that the spoken out loud/told journey has a linear coherence of time, geography, event, and encounter that gets hazy and misty when I keep it to myself and don't speak it as I go.
John, as for the development of the alphabet mucking with our brains, I recall Leonard Shlain having something to say on that subject, but can't put my hands on the book at the moment.
Ish, regarding that East/West mind shift, may have something to do with alphabet verses pictographs?
As an artist on the rare good day, but a designer every day, the sketch and working drawing is never "art" or the object desired, but the bridge to my fabricator. The better, more beautiful, organized, coherent my drawing the better I am able to romance my cabinetmaker to "see" and capture my intent. My final drawing/plate is my membrane to pass on and through to the physical.
My hunch is the Shaman did not partake in the hunt, his work being done when he left the cave. Not even sure that the actual hunters had to witness the drawings being drawn to successfully bring home the bacon.
As to drawing....choosing not to include painting as its a more studied and layered process for a desired effect and affect, where as to draw is to CAPTURE the essence. All hunting implications intended.
Back to drawing.. which we think of being done at a table or desk and engaging muscle and neuro pathaways from the wrist down, sometimes elbow down. Thinking our Paleo forebeares drew from the shoulder down, which lights up a different part of the brain. A favorite art school exercise is to put the paper on the floor and tie your charcoal to a stick and let it fly, my personal experience was a flush of visceral excitement that had no comparison to the endless drawing of naked ladies (in class) for 6 hours a day. twice a week. The floor drawings were powerful, empowering, always surprising and never dull, not unlike stumbling on a world you didn't suspect existed.
With the advent of the computer, have been drawing with a mouse 90% of the time, not so much because its faster, because its not, but for industry file format requirments, manangement and ability to make small changes without erasing a weeks work. When I sketch, more when travelling, I continue to be surprised by the magic of what shows up on the page.
As an occasional guest lecturer at College Design Depts, I see the loss in form and quirky finesse that used to show up in the students work, most having never actually drawn to see their quarry, relying on key commands and mouse. When asked if they "draw", I often recieve the answer, "No way, I do it all on the computer. Then there the student whose work somehow stands out and when asked if they actually "draw" the answer is invariably yes.
Its been my experience that, once the neuro pathways of pencil-hand-wrist-arm-brain have been opened and exercised, you get to keep them and THEN can apply them to the device of choice. I lament the loss for future artists and designers of the access to the unbroken heritage from their Paleo-Ancestors that literally runs down their arms on to the page.(don't get me going about 3D)
Ish, being that the right side of my brain pays my bills, have never had trouble journeying. But have found that the spoken out loud/told journey has a linear coherence of time, geography, event, and encounter that gets hazy and misty when I keep it to myself and don't speak it as I go.
John, as for the development of the alphabet mucking with our brains, I recall Leonard Shlain having something to say on that subject, but can't put my hands on the book at the moment.
Ish, regarding that East/West mind shift, may have something to do with alphabet verses pictographs?
