Text response

Drawing is (re-)enactment. So too is out response to drawing. Whether we are initially concerned with the mimetic function of the drawn line or with its calligraphic qualities as ornament, one aspect of its existence remains central: the line (or mark) is a direct record of the draftsman's gesture. On a fundamental level, it involves us as viewers, in the kinesthetics of the act of drawing; its qualities of direction, velocity, weight, its rhythm, pace, and inflection stand as permanent trace of the movement of the artist's hand - and of the body of which that hand is an extension.  - David Rosand, Drawing Acts

In response to the acting body and Rosand's 'Drawing Acts' text, I worked the corporeal/ indexical substance of oil in a performance piece. I stumbled upon working with oil in class one week when I was kneeling over my roll of cardboard. I found that the oil I use to moisturise my legs was transferred onto the drawing, leaving evidence of me having been there. This personal act of moisturising, and the strong connection oil has with the body, led my choice to work with oil. In the performance piece I filmed, I rubbed oil onto my hands, knees and feet and applied this onto the roll of cardboard, with emphasis on the kinesthetics of the act of drawing, as informed by Rosand's 'Drawing Acts' excerpt. I like the idea that the oil acts as a trace of the performance, leaving residue and evidence of my having been there. Shaun Gladwell's movement pieces, as well as Jaanika Peerna performance art informed these projects. In addition, the aesthetics of Cai Guo Qiang's drawings, David Hammon's use of oil and Yves Klein's use of the body as an indexical imprint also played a large role in this project. Throughout the majority of these projects, I was feeling quite lost, confused and unsure about what my final piece would turn out to be. It took a lot of courage for me to put myself in front of a camera and perform, especially because I didn't know how it would turn out. But I think it was successful and I am relatively happy with the outcome.

Francis Alys

Cai Guo Qiang

Jaanika Peerna

Gestural performance art by Jaanika Peerna

Week 10

My response - week 9

I find myself physically responding to the model. The gesture of the pose flows from not only the medium in my contorted hand by my whole body. I feel my spine move with the pose, I feel the tension, the release. My whole body moves with the medium and the model. I am not sure if I'm doing it right but the smile on my face tells me I am enjoying it. I am enjoying how my whole body can flow across the page. I am enjoying the fact that the lines that I make may not look like the model but they look like how I'm feeling and how I'm responding to the model. I change the way I hold the medium, gripping it loosely then holding it angrily in my fist then spinning around then looking at the model's pose from under my left arm then under my right arm then crouching and then being the tallest I can be then moving the medium fluidly across the page then drawing with the medium between my pinky finger then with my hand flipped over. My whole body responds to the model, the pose and the form. At first I felt tentative and apprehensive but then I let go, allowed my intuition to take a hold of me and responded how I felt. 

Week 9

Blu Blu

Arnulf Rainer (1929 - )

Shigeko Kubota (1937 - )

Uji Hahan (1983 - )

Jenny Saville (1970 - )