OCA drawing 1.1

 The aim of this exercise is to experience working more freely, quickly, and directly; responding to everyday familiar objects that surround you. Develop quick fire studies by becoming more outward facing, to examine how an audience can extend a drawing practice through its own agency in order to consider being both in and out of the frame.

WHO IS THE FAMOUS ARTIST THAT DRAWS HER DOG……

Joan Jonas is an American visual and performance artist.  There is a lot going on.  And when you break the surface and get into her reference it’s alike an encyclopedia.  Marine biology, jazz pianists, Icelandic folklore.  I imagine deconstructing Joan Jonas’s art having a birds eye, Google Earth type view, looking down from space at all the content.  And as you zoom in closer and closer what you eventually see is a pile of 30 second drawings of her dog.  

Her exhibition pieces are multifaceted.  The brain thinks of many things at once and so goes the layering of her installations.  But her drawings are about connecting with the essence of their subject.  Repeated over and over again, many discarded until she felt she has uniquely represented the spirit of the object.

Watching her work in the performances she acts like a guide.  Directing you through the webs of ideas and resources, and the drawings are part of the non linguistic communications she uses to connect with her audience.

BACKYARD CURIOSITIES 

I am surrounded by nature.  It was most accessible to head into the garden to find some of the most complex subjects, insects.  Simple everyday creatures, their lives discarded under most people shoes, yet determined and necessary creatures.

They have so many fine details, but after focused observation, it is interesting to break their forms down to the most definitive characteristics.

Because of the short timeframe allowed for each drawing I had to quickly discover a process for transferring this labyrinth of detail.

I wanted to create lively lines, not over processed, so I deliberately held my pen loosely and scuffed up the nib to loosen up the lines.

HOW TO PERFORM A DRAWING

My motivation to perform a drawing would be to give context.  And how you could develop an idea, and extend out into an audience a more collective experience.

I would like to create an environment that expresses the inspiration and experience of drawing those subjects.  So the viewers are not only perceiving the finished art, but the act of creating it.

Joan Jonas acts as guide, but she also manipulates her audience with lighting, sound, visuals, and props.

I think you could go on a journey, experiencing the weather, temperature, time of day as an installation.  Using lighting, heating, sound effects, etc.  Drawing continuously on the walls and partitions, even in clothing that recognises the environment.  The drawing growing around the room, like foliage and insect life in an outdoor environment.

A drawing installation that gives you a direct experience, away from intellectualism, away from Googling facts.  Just a moment of creativity, nature, sensory experience.  And maybe slightly ironic that you are simulating it in a gallery setting rather than directly outdoors.  An acquiesce to the nature of our current sensibilities.

List of Images

Cover Image Flockhart, K. (2024) Quick Fire Insects In Progress. [Posca pen on paper] In possession of: The author: Volleges.

Fig.1 Flockhart, K. (2024) Quick Fire Insects. [Posca pen on paper, Paint, Cardboard] In possession of: The author: Volleges.

Bibliography

Barker, G (2017) Joan Jonas Drawing And Performance. At: http://fineartdrawinglca.blogspot.com/2017/03/joan-jonas-drawing-and-performance.html (Accessed 06/05/2024).

Joan Jonas – Drawings (2014) [YouTube Video] At: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAqag6mU8z4 (Accessed 06/05/2024).