Hi Angela,
I thank you for starting this discussion. It gave me words to understand
a part of my therapeutic work suddenly in a different way.
You wrote:
"I've been wondering about the role of the physical drawing itself in a
drawing dialogue."
I am an art therapist working with people whose language is not
effective to tackle their interaction problems. The physicality of
drawing is the ground of my method "Emerging Body Language".
The spaces on paper have useful analogies with the spaces between and
around us. Beyond its REPRESENTATIONAL aspect, the drawing movement is
always directly PRESENT itself and experienced as such even already by a
newborn. (See the photo's in the Dutch article:
http://www.kiddo.net/pdf/tekenen.pdf
Because of the traces left on the paper the (drawing) movements of the
patients are visible, showing physically the patient's ability or
problems with attunement to the (paper) space and his/her awareness of
place in space and of directions. Like in all daily behaviours, the
rhythm, speed and intensity of (drawing) movement shows emotions and
intentions on a physical level and in a physical way, and -as you said -
"the risk and intimacy of the unfolding connectedness between two
people" making (drawing) movements in the same (paper) space. This works
in the same way between two severely mentally retarded patients as
between two scientists because it exists beyond our conscious or
unconscious awareness.
It is relatively easy to make an assessment of movement layers of
togetherness. I defined them as the "Implicit Interaction-structures"
that commonly unfold between 0 and 5 years old: Attunement, Turn-taking,
Exchange, Play-dialogue and Task/Theme.
Luckily it is never to late to improve these internal interaction
structures, and luckily, no other language than each own movements is
necessary.
Trying to describe this in words took me 35 years of my life and art
therapy practise. The drawing - often supported by video of the drawing
session - "stands as a testimony to that connectedness no matter how
fleeting".
All the best
Marijke
www.eblcentre.com
-----Oorspronkelijk bericht-----
Van: The UK drawing research network mailing list
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] Namens Angela Rogers
Verzonden: vrijdag 20 februari 2004 0:47
Aan: [log in to unmask]
Onderwerp: Re: Drawing Dialogues
Hi Richard
Thanks for your reply. If possible I would love to see some examples.
I've just read your article for Tracey,
(www.lboro.ac.uk/departments/ac/tracey/edu/hare.html)
'The act of sketching in learning ...: a total skill for complex
expression'
.I found it very useful and am interested in what you say about the role
of
sketching in allowing us to carry out and externalise complex mental
imaging
tasks and as a means to say the unsayable in an unsayable way, not
merely a
linguistic shorthand but something different.
I've been wondering about the role of the physical drawing itself in a
drawing dialogue. How it makes visible, externalises, the risk and
intimacy
of the unfolding connectedness between two people making a drawing
together.
Trying to describe this in words would be cumbersome and the connection
would probably crumble from the effort of trying to describe it. The
drawing
then stands as a testimony to that connectedness no matter how fleeting.
Who keeps the drawing is another question.
I may be trying to stretch this analogy too far but I'm grateful for
your
descriptions.
all the best
Angela
To: "'Angela Rogers '" <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, February 13, 2004 11:19 AM
Subject: RE: Drawing Dialogues
> Hello Angela
>
> I don't know how relevant my own experiences are but as a Landscape
> Architect I have often used drawing as a substitute for verbal
> communication. My own Burgeresk experiences have been on occassions in
> Norway and Zanzibar where drawing allowed some great dialogue in a
social
> setting.
>
> I teach at Universities in Denmark and Sweden now and although most
students
> have some english our conversations are generally graphic based. When
I
> began I couldn't speak or understand danish or swedesh and there were
some
> very interesting episodes.
> It could be interesting for you see some of this- I guess it might
happen
> with visiting design professional to schools in UK.
>
> Good luck with your application
>
> Richard
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Angela Rogers
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Sent: 11/02/04 12:18
> Subject: Drawing Dialogues
>
> Hi colleagues I wonder if anyone can help?
>
> I have recently finished the Drawing as Process MA at Kingston and am
> embarking on a Drawing Dialogues initiative. I'm making a funding
> application for research to support the initiative, investigating
> dialogues where drawing is the language of communication. Such as John
> Berger's experience in a cafe in Istanbul where he spent an evening
> conversing with someone else, neither of them speaking each other's
> language, by drawing on table napkins. Or Raymond Carver's description
> of a blind man experiencing a drawing of a catherdral by feeling all
> over and round the edges of a piece of paper, then holding another
man's
> hand whilst he drew.
>
> I'd be grateful for any information or examples of the following.
>
> Collaborative drawing activities that probably involve an artist and
> non-artists although any examples of a long term collaborative drawing
> relationship between two artists would be valuable.
>
> I am also interested in accounts of the experience of being drawn,
> especially by individuals who are not 'professional models', friends
of
> the artist or part of the art world. I am curious about whether the
kind
> of experience Frederick Franck describes when drawing people and
objects
> is in any way reciprocated by those being drawn.
>
> Many thanks
> Angela Rogers
>
>
>
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