Mini-Assignments

1. Do a drawing that is made up of nothing but 200 lines.
2. Research and take notes on artists and references linked below.

Materials

Various materials, 12″ x 18″ paper

Time

6 hours

Vocabulary

Mark, gesture, point, line, plane, volume, space, dynamic, calligraphy, representational, non-objective, actual lines, implied lines, psychic lines, shape, form, LED

Info

If one distills the graphic arts (e.g., painting, drawing, printmaking, computer graphics, etc.) down to their most fundamental element, one finds the “mark.” Marks are like building blocks in that they are individual and discrete, but can be used in a repetitive manner to render almost any visual effect. Marks can be highly gestural and expressive, or highly controlled and mechanical. The degree to which artists can achieve certain desired effects is in large measure determined by their choice of tool, the nature of the medium used, and the quality of the gesture employed. In 2-D Design, initial discussion centers around the expressiveness of the individual “mark” – its descriptive, expressive, and conceptual potentials.

As one builds mark upon mark, a dynamic space for the interaction of marks and other elements of design such as lines and shapes emerges. A dynamic conception of this world would see the mark or point as having the potential for generating a line. Paul Klee explained the creation of expressive line as a matter of “taking a point for a walk ” By extension, a plane can be seen as a moving line, and a three-dimensional volume can be understood as a moving plane (or line). This conceptualization of pictorial space is at least as old as Leonardo who discussed it in his notebooks. It finds a powerful set of exponents in the Bauhaus and, more recently, provides a clear basis for understanding the virtual 3-D space produced on the LED screen of a computer. Regardless of particular historical or technical biases, this conception of spatial description is a conceptually rich method of introducing the dynamic character of the picture plane. Consider how a point light source (e.g., a car head-light) will appear as a line in a time exposure photograph. Or how a dancer’s arm describes a plane in space.

You are encouraged to work through a lot of tools and media. Interact with one another, trade tools and compare notes. A conceptual basis for the discussion will help you connect technical exercises with your own experience. Historical and cultural examples can provide a range of options that may go well beyond what you initially experiment with in class.

Process

Each of these assignments is designed to get you out of your shell and opened up to the possibilities of art.  I want to see your creativity.  Embrace your failures.  Embrace risk.  It’s okay to not know what you are doing. Drawings should be done on 12″ by 18″ paper (one sheet of 18″ by 24″ cut in half)

1) Make a “dot” sampler, using the widest variety of tools and materials available; on a second sheet create a “line sampler,” and a “shape sampler” on a third sheet. Refer to this personal collection when studying the illustrations in books, observing the work of fellow students, or going to museums and galleries.

2) Explore the expressive range of a tool, such as a finely pointed bamboo brush (the kind used for Asian calligraphy), a block of charcoal, graphite powder, shoelace, rust, dirt, etc. See how many differing kinds of simple marks and brush strokes you can make, exerting almost no pressure at first, then slowly adding weight to your mark, causing larger areas of the brush to come in contact with the paper.

3) Do a non-objective drawing to music. What changes in the quality of the marks or lines as the music changes? Compare your own sketches, then compare with other students’ work. Discuss about the ease or difficulty of moving across different media or modes of expression.

4) Create 5 drawings that create the visual equivalent of an “edge.” Each drawing should be different and use a different approach to creating an edge.

Artists / References

Georges Seurat, Paul Klee, Wassily Kandinsky, Sumi-e painting, Australian aboriginal 
painting, Bauhaus