Drawing: The Enactive Evolution of the Practitioner

294 Pages·2010·7.9 MB·english

by  Patricia Cain

Drawing
Drawing
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By Patricia Cain By Patricia Cain
The Enactive Evolution of the Practitioner
The Enactive Evolution of the Practitioner
In an era which has seen many forms of artistic creation becoming digitized, the practice D
of drawing by hand in the traditional sense, has remained constant. However, many
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discussions about the function of the activity and the relationship between drawing and a
thinking are dependent upon the discipline for which it is being used.
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Drawing: The Enactive Evolution of the Practitioner redefines drawing more holistically n
as an enactive phenomenon, and makes connections between a variety of disciplines in g
order to find out how drawing helps us understand the world. Instead of the finite event
of producing an artifact, drawing is a process and an end in itself, through which the
practitioner might gain self-awareness.
By synthesizing enactive thinking and the practice of drawing, this volume provides valuable
insights into the creative mind, and will appeal to scholars and practitioners alike.
Patricia Cain is an artist and honorary research fellow of the Humanities Advanced
Technology and Information Institute, University of Glasgow. She won the prestigious
Aspect Prize in 2010 and is also a recent recipient of the RSA Kinross Scholarship, the
RSW Hospitalfield Residency, and the RGI House for an Art Lover Prize. She exhibits in
the UK and abroad.
ISBN 978-1-84150-325-7
0 0
9 781841 503257
intellect | www.intellectbooks.com
Drawing

Drawing
The Enactive Evolution of the Practitioner
Patricia Cain
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First published in the UK in 2010 by
Intellect, The Mill, Parnall Road, Fishponds, Bristol, BS16 3JG, UK
First published in the USA in 2010 by
Intellect, The University of Chicago Press, 1427 E. 60th Street,
Chicago, IL 60637, USA
Copyright ©2010 Intellect Ltd
All rights reserved. No part of this publication maybe reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by
any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or
otherwise, without written permission.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the
British Library.
Cover designer: Holly Rose
Copy-editor: Michael Eckhardt
Typesetting: Mac Style, Beverley, E. Yorkshire
ISBN 978-1-84150-325-7 / EISBN 978-1-84150-395-0
Printed and bound by Gutenberg Press, Malta.
Contents
List of Figures 7
Figure Credits 13
Acknowledgements 15
Introduction 17
PART I: Theorising about Thinking and Drawing: The Limitations of Theory-led
Research to the Practitioner 23
Chapter 1: About Thinking and Drawing – The Process Rather than the Artefact 25
Chapter 2: Moving from Theory to Practice – The Methodological Problem 35
Chapter 3: The Relevance of Enactive Cognition to the Practice of Drawing 45
Chapter 4: Accessing Enactive Knowledge Through the Lived Experience of the
Practitioner 57
PART II: The First Phase of Methodology – Using the Experience of Others as Subject:
The Limitations of a Third Person Methodology 67
Chapter 5: Experiential Accounts of the Activity of Drawing by Others –
Marion Milner and Frederick Franck 69
Chapter 6: Interviewing Drawing Practitioners about How They Think 83
Chapter 7: Making the Decision to Use Drawing to Investigate Thinking:
Methodological Issues 99
PART III: The Second Phase of Methodology – Using My Own Experience as the
Subject of a First Person Enquiry: About the Nature and Form of
Knowledge that Emerges from the Experience of Drawing 109
Drawing: The Enactive Evolution of the Practitioner
Chapter 8: C an I Embody Another Artist’s Thinking Process by Copying His
Drawing? – Familiarisation with the Method of Copying 113
Chapter 9: The Case Studies of Richard Talbot and Oliver Zwink 131
Chapter 10: F our Narratives About the Experience of Re-enacting Talbot’s
Drawing Glass 153
NARRATIVE 1 – COPYING A SECTION FOR COMPARISON 156
NARRATIVE 2 – IDENTIFYING KEY STAGES OF TALBOT’S THINKING
THROUGH ACETATE DRAWINGS 161
NARRATIVE 3 – MINING THE ELEMENTS OF TALBOT’S PROCESS
THROUGH SKETCHBOOK DRAWINGS 184
NARRATIVE 4 – THE ‘WALL DRAWINGS’ – TAKING WHAT I ‘KNEW’ BACK
INTO MY OWN PRACTICE 227
Chapter 11: Observations about the Method of Enactive Copying 249
Chapter 12: Where Does One go from Here? 263
Bibliography 279
6
List of Figures
Introduction
1. Patricia Cain St. John’s in the Vale 2003 Pastel 204 x 150 cm.
2. Patricia Cain Cuillin 2004 Pastel 204 x 150 cm.
Chapter 1
3. Examples of conventional and gestural mark-making in drawings in architecture and
fine art.
a. Alan Dunlop Elevation drawing of St Pancras 2009 Ink on Tracing Paper 594 x 841 mm.
b. Toby Paterson Suburban Church 2003 Installation view from New Façade Exhibition,
CCA Glasgow.
c. Frederick Kiesler Endless House Sketch 1958 Pencil on Paper.
d. Claude Heath Head 103 1995 Biro on paper 70 x 50cm.
4. Descriptions of writing as discovery by expert writers selected from Murray in
Galbraith 1999: 138.
5. Entry from the Author’s journal dated 20.10.05.
Chapter 2
6. Graph showing the number of ideas (measured as a proportion of ideas produced
before writing) plotted as a function of self-monitoring and type of planning (Galbraith
1999: 153).
7. Schematic drawing by the Author making connections about learning, knowledge and
practice.
8. Schematic drawing by the Author showing the cyclical nature of her subject matter
during the process of researching.
Chapter 3
9. Diagrams of the interactions of the autopoietic entity copied by the Author from
images shown in the film Monte Grande (2004).
7
Drawing: The Enactive Evolution of the Practitioner
Chapter 4
10. The basic cycle of epoché copied by the Author from Depraz et al. 2003: 25.
Chapter 5
11. Examples of Milner’s written and drawn descriptions of the differences between the
narrow focus and the wide focus (adapted by the Author from Milner 1971: 9–13).
12. Entry from the Author’s journal dated.
13. Franck’s drawing exercise to practice the way of seeing/drawing (adapted by the Author
from Franck 1993: 49–77).
14. Examples of descriptions of the ‘relational effect’ by Milner and Franck.
Chapter 6
15. Examples of Oliver Zwink’s work.
a. Block 2000 Felt pen on tracing paper 29.7 x 42 cm.
b. Zora 1999/2000 Felt pen on plastic sheet 140 cm x 613 cm.
c. View 2002 Mixed media on paper (Four Parts) commissioned for ‘Drawing on
space’ 42 x 118 cm.
16. Examples of Richard Talbot’s drawings.
a. Floating Pencil and ink on paper 1.2 x 1.2 m.
b. Missing the Target Pencil 11.4x 0.8m.
c. RandomMoves Pencil and ink on paper 1.2x1.2 m.
d. Stepupstepdown Pencil and ink on paper 1.2 x1.2 m.
17. The Author’s diagram showing the change in shape of the methodological phases of
her investigation.
18. Interviewing Richard Talbot.
19. Interviewing Oliver Zwink.
Chapter 7
20. The Author’s diagram of the context for her enquiry.
21. Varela speaking at the ‘Art meets Science and Spirituality’ conference in Amsterdam
in 1990.
Chapter 8
22. Sacrifice of Noah.
a. Sacrifice of Noah by Alphonse Legros 1888 Silverpoint on card 27.7 x 21.0 cm.
b. The Author’s first copy of Sacrifice of Noah after Legros 4H pencil on paper 49.5 x
34.5 cm.
c. The Author’s second copy of Sacrifice of Noah after Legros Felt pen on cartridge
paper 42 x 59 cm.
8
List of Figures
23. Sacrifice of Noah
a. The Author’s third copy of Sacrifice of Noah after Legros 2B pencil on cartridge
paper 42 x 59 cm.
b. Th e Author’s fourth copy of Sacrifice of Noah after Legros 4B pencil on cartridge
paper 42 x 59 cm.
c. The Author’s fifth copy of Sacrifice of Noah after Legros 4B pencil on cartridge paper
42 x 59 cm.
d. The Author’s sixth copy of Sacrifice of Noah after Legros 4B pencil on cartridge
paper 42 x 59 cm.
24. a. Sacrifice of Noah by Michelangelo Buonarroti 1509 Cappella Sistina, Vatican Fresco.
b. Sacrifice of Noah after Michelangelo by Alphonse Legros 1888 Silverpoint on card
27.7 x 21.0 cm.
25. Examples of other work by Legros.
a. Alphonse Legros Ferme de l’Abbaye Ink on paper 21.6 x 28.2 cm.
b. Alphonse Legros Les Arbres Au Bord de L’eau Ink on paper 17.8 x 18.8 cm.
26. A sequence of copies of Head of a Woman by the Author after Da Pontermo, with
the original by Da Pontermo shown first. Jacopo Da Pontormo, Head of a Woman,
Sanquine 22.8 x 17.2 cm. Uffizi, Florence, Italy.
27. A sequence of the Author’s copies of Study for Abraham and Melchizdek by Peter
Paul Rubens with the original shown first. Peter Paul Rubens, Study for Abraham and
Melchizedek, black chalk. 42.8 x 53.7 cm. Louvre, Paris.
28. A sequence of copies of Self-Portrait by Danny Ferguson by the Author with the
original by Danny Ferguson shown first. Danny Ferguson, Self Portrait 1980. Pencil &
Conte 51 x 34 cm.
29. A sequence of the Author’s copies of Worth Matravers Verso sketch of Cottages after
C. R. Mackintosh with a copy of the original by Mackintosh shown first. Worth
Matravers Verso sketch of Cottages c. 1921. Pencil on paper 20.3 x 25 cm.
30. Glass Richard Talbot 1998 4H and 3H Pencil on paper 1.1 x 1.1 m.
31. The Author’s third copy of Rubens’ Study for Abraham and Melchizdek.
Chapter 9
32. Glass: copy by the Author after Richard Talbot 1.1 x 1.1 m 3H and 4H pencil on
Fabriano.
33. Glass: plan drawing by the Author 1.1 x 1.1 m.
34. Glass: constructing the ‘scaffolding’.
35. Glass: trying not to look at the lines of the final form.
36. Ellipse practice study sheet by the Author.
37. The Author’s diagram of Talbot’s constructive mode of thinking.
38. Wave by Oliver Zwink. Pencil on paper 50.7 x 70.5 cm.
39. Wave: some lines were made by hand whilst others were made with a ruler.
40. Wave: copy by the Author.
9