Standing on the Shoulders of Giants, (A round-up of the 5th week, Project 1, Year 2).

In reflection of the work that I have achieved this week, I'm quite pleased with the time that I spent Wednesday morning, and during the day on Friday, taking detailed measurements paving stones and their formations in St George's Square at the front of Huddersfield railway station.

I seem to have started what could be a laborious task, however I am confident that the outcome will be worth it, with my intention and devotion that I'm giving to the current drawing.

 At the beginning of this week I thought deeply about how I could find a learning experience given through the Contemporary Art in Context lectures, - commencing originally to the concept of "the line," and 'drawing' in general.   Later in the week, with reference to some of the works of other contemporary artists such as Sol DeWitt.

In relation to the study of the two paving tiles in tandem and perspective, I found a further drawing of interest, by the American artist Edda Renouf, (Born 1943), which is entitled "Structure change of lines, incised before Chalk, -Sound Rising 1, (1978), made from incised lines, pastel and graphite on 'Arches' paper with a fixative, measuring approximately 533 mm by 470 mm (exhibited in Washington, DC. National Gallery of Art, the Dorothy and Herbert Vogel collection, gift of Dorothy and Herbert Vogel 1994).

 Deanna Petherbridge (in The Premacy of Drawing, 2010) says;

The drawing can be read in a number of ways.  Firstly using "Spalvero", as its topic, that is as both subject matter and technique, collapsing pre-modernist distinctions between these states.  In this purest reading, "structure change of lines incised before Chalk - Sounds Rising 1" sublimates the indexical nature of its technique through the controlled laying down of a number of parallel incised lines on white paper, but then rubbed with a layer of red pastel to achieve a glowing intensity of the parrallel stulus impressions. This formality is reinforced by the equisite control and cleanliness of the paper support, without fingerprints of traces of making.  Alternatively diagonal courses of doubled lines could suggest a perspectival reading, as if the red chalk field is laid down or slanted on the containing sheet or references archaeological proto-text of incised runes.

In the concept of the grid that I have been pursuing for the last five weeks, one of the most fundamental in art, the grid can be traced well beyond the Renaissance back to Greek and possibly even Egyptian.  Subconciously, I think I know that this fundamental investigation grid concepts also provides for me a stable foundation to my own practice.

In reflection with comparisons that I have made, such as some of the formal late drawings of Eva Hess (1936 to 1970),  I came across one entitled "drawing" (1967), where she used pen and ink on paper. (This is held or on display the Liverwood Collection, Chester, Connecticut, USA),
 or alternatively perhaps the gridded drawing of Agnes Martin which she entitled as water flower 1964, constructed with pen and white and red ink with grey wash over graphite square of paper measuring 301mm by 303mm  (currently held at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC a gift of the Woodward foundation 1976).

Both these drawings are non-representational, however, by staring for a concentrated moment of time at each, one begins to see shapes emerging, - perhaps from shadows, and almost certainly percieved from our own imaginations, in our own attempts to establish the Gestalt which is continuously trying to create patterns of form, or figure and ground, - even where there are none.
In reflection on the lectures provided by Juliet, I think they are exactly correct in terms of their timing, subject matter and interpretation, and order to complement the artistic practices in this project of drawing.
The references to contextual artists, and the consideration of "what the action of drawing" actually is,  I  sometimes wonder if the lectures may miss the intellectual engagement of some of my peers. - I hope not,  as at the moment, I am thoroughly enjoying them.  I really hope that we are all enjoying them and taking intellectual stimulation from them the same way.