The Visual Documentation of Modern Life Through Drawing Offers Alternate Ways of Knowing and Understanding the World.
Jack Painter
The practice of drawing has an utmost relevance in the recording of modern life, both generally and specifically in the music industry. Drawing encourages the eye to study and investigate any details that may have been missed through simply looking at or photographing one’s subject. Through observational drawing, even if they are simply quick or rough sketches, I have found that my ability to appreciate structure and proportion have been greatly improved. Aspects of the practice, such as achieving accuracy when working with perspective are areas that I find can only be improved through active engagement with a subject. It is then from this practice of truthful representation that drawing can breathe, becoming a stylised or symbolic depiction of, or the feelings associated with, the subject. From this initial practice, I moved on to look more closely at drawing’s significance more generally in everyday life and its worth when compared to photographic documentation in the modern world. By simply taking a photo of something we are less likely to actually be looking at the scene or event that prompted our wish to document it in the first place. I came across a video called ‘Why we Should Draw More (And Photograph Less)’ The School of Life (2015) in which a narrator highlights his thoughts on how important and relevant drawing is, or at least should be, and consequently the ways in which photography is damaging drawing’s role in modern life.
In this video the narrator uses John Ruskin as his primary source of foundation. Ruskin was the first to suggest that cameras and photography were blinding us to our surroundings. In the act of recreating what we see or feel on paper, we are forced to pay closer attention to its shape and intricacies in a way that is seldom found when merely pressing a button, “The greatest thing a human soul ever does in this world is to SEE something, and tell what it SAW in a plain way… To see clearly is poetry, prophecy, and religion, all in one.” However, Ruskin did not disregard the introduction of photography as a practice of documentation having some clear positives, describing it as a “noble invention” arguing that
“Anyone who has worked, blundered and stammered as I have done for days, and then sees the thing he has been trying to do so long in vain, done perfectly and faultlessly in half a minute, won’t abuse it afterwards.” Helmut Gernsheim (1986)
Despite his acceptance of the potential photography possessed, his foremost beliefs were based around an idea in which drawing allows the artist to take the physical objects that photography utilises whilst adding or removing ideas to help sculpt an artist’s own interpretation of the subject.
In a video titled “Why is Drawing Important” The Big Draw (2014), Andrew Marr describes the practice of drawing as “educating your visual sense” and “educating yourself to understand the dance of colours and shapes all around you”, whilst further encouraging its importance in modern life by stating that “we are completely surrounded by things that were once drawn by a human hand and a human mind and a human heart.” He also refers back to the origin of drawing stating that “The very first things that we know made by human beings on the planet are Drawings”. Before the evolution of language in its written form, literal and figurative imagery gave birth to a visual correspondence that we now know and use every day. It was from these early cave paintings that drawing has been cultivated into its valued state in modern life. Drawing allows us to separate the physical from the semantic and becomes not only a valuable form of documentation but one of analysis. In the same video, numerous other people from a range of professions give their personal views on how drawing aids their everyday lives in different ways. Architect Peter Ayres suggests that “in a quick drawing you can resolve a question that might have taken half an hour to talk through”. In an occupation such as architecture there is a fairly obvious involvement for the practice of drawing when designing, however Ayres talks of drawing’s ability to surpass its more obvious use in his industry. He goes on to explain that he and his partner use post-it notes with quick, simple drawings in order to convey a point or indeed discuss alternatives to solutions in a far more efficient way than if they were spoken through.
Another speaker in the video is Briony Marshall, a Biochemist turned sculptor, who talks about the art within the scientific world and how it has led to her progression to sculpting. In her segment of the video she describes the beauty in the nature of atomic structure and goes on to talk more directly about the influence of drawing specifically stating that “there’s no physical rules within it, you can do whatever you want. You can make things fly.” Again, this highlights the abilities that drawing provides to breach the constraints of photographic documentation. This further suggests that through the freedom that drawing brings us, we are able to enlighten ourselves to the alternative perceptions of the world.
Similarly, Milton Glaser, creator of the iconic ‘I heart NY’, describes drawing as “an absolutely primary way of encountering reality”. In a short video called “How Drawing Helps Us Understand Our World” Wimp (2015), Glaser draws a simple sketch of Shakespeare whilst sharing his thoughts over the significance of drawing in modern life, “The act of Drawing makes me conscious of what I’m looking at”. Glaser then goes on, drawing attention to the potential inaccuracy of his own drawing stating that an artist’s ability to express themselves should be their absolute priority in drawing once experienced in the basics of accuracy and proportion. His argument is that drawing should not be about getting every single line perfect, as you would achieve in a medium such as photography, but rather allowing the imperfections to build the artist’s subjective experience of their focus.
In addition to drawing’s clear role in helping us to understand modern life, allowing us to gain new perspectives and knowledge, this understanding of the world, in turn, aids my skill of drawing. For example, when drawing a house in which someone may have lived for their entire life, they would be aware of the proportions of different details of the building from most conceivable angles but when drawing a house that they had decided to draw then and there this task may prove to be more of a challenge. By simply observing a subject, even subconsciously and without any active intention to analyse, we learn the proportions and shapes that build it. With this in mind, drawing does not necessarily have to serve purely as the product of visual documentation but also as a means of understanding and knowing the intricacies of the subject’s form. Once this knowledge is formed it becomes a foundation for more surreal and expressive work to stem from. While drawing allows us to document events and feelings in a subjective way, music helps us find our thoughts and form the opinions through which we express ourselves when drawing. Drawing serves in harmony with music, allowing the emotive influence of a song’s themes or lyrics to encourage expression in drawing. To begin understanding drawing’s role alongside music, I listened to a number of songs whilst writing down key parts of the lyrics and illustrating them. This served as a visual diary to the soundtrack with which I surround myself every day, enabling me to look closer at the reasons why these songs, although quite different in genre and tone, narrate my evenings and walks home. The reminiscent effect achieved by enveloping oneself in a song that has specific subtexts for the listener, enables them to explore past experience of emotion leading to more expressive working. Personally, it seems to feel that negative associations linger with a stronger connection than those of a positive nature, so listening to sad songs that possess these strong ties for an artist can prove to be extremely useful.
This direct approach of taking songs apart word by word in order to draw from progressed to less lyrically specific depictions of music’s role in my life, drawing from past and present events where music made an impact on me. For example, the numerous trips to Festivals I have taken over the last few years have largely shaped my understanding of the industry, but drawing from those experiences allowed me to intricately examine the connotations that music has in my life. Music permits the listener to travel back to the place or time with which the song is associated for them, allowing them to feel the relevant emotions once more. Working with more real emotion leads to some of the most expressive drawing. In addition to their alliance in personal practice, drawing is a necessity in the world of modern music. As Andrew Marr suggested, it is easily argued that all man’s produce has, in some way, derived from drawing in some form, but in terms of the industry it is through music’s advertisement and the way through which it is shared that drawing thrives as a practice. The art associated with particular musicians is often genre defining; from the typography to the album artwork, the imagery with which a singer or band are surrounded is arguably just as key as the music itself. Distinctive album covers and iconic typography allow artists to be recognised by more than just their sound. To explore the association between visual product and music, I created a fictional group known only as ‘Music Band’, creating drawings of the members (Jim, Bald-Beard and Auburn Prince) and their accompanying imagery. As a fictitious music act, Music Band are not genre-bound nor are they under any form of constraints enforced by their period; two factors that would ordinarily be primary for the design of any paraphernalia associated with an artist. Apart from the artwork on an artist’s actual product, whether that be physical CD, vinyl or in a digital recording format, the merchandise linked to a particular act is often where drawing finds its relevance in the industry. “According to the ‘Future of Music Organization’, merch, as it’s known in the industry, accounted for about 6% of a rock band’s income in 2011.” Melissa Locker (2013)
Album art, along with other forms of music derived artwork such as Posters and clothing, have the task of encapsulating the ideas or themes addressed by the songs of said artist without any form of audio example. Because of this, things like the typography, colour scheme or logo become as defining to a musical act as their actual music. Alex Steinweiss was the first person to consider the value of combining music and art. “Before 1938, all albums came packaged in plain brown wrappers” Dazed (2010) until Steinweiss gave birth to the relationship between music and visual product. He argued that “it was ridiculous that beautiful music was in an empty piece of cardboard.” It was from this first stepping stone that we as the consumer learnt to appreciate drawing’s importance as an aid in associating particular imagery with certain kinds of music. To understand this further, I designed my own Music Band T-shirt and had it printed. Whilst many bands use their distinctive lettering or logos to define a piece of merchandise associated with their image I chose to draw a particular member of the band, based on an old band member of mine, accompanied by the character’s name. From the initial sketch to the final T-shirt, I found that I was learning about all of the considerations that go into producing something that had previously seemed like an obvious and simple process. The situation of the subject in relation to any text can create a significant effect on the focus of the image. Furthermore, the font, size and colour of the typography must be carefully considered in order to prioritise either the image or accompanying text. I decided to exchange the bold red lettering in my initial design for a simpler, smaller black font that complimented the delicate monochrome drawing of Auburn Prince. From here I adjusted the levels of the tone of my design on gimp and then used Vistaprint to have the T-shirt produced.
As Music Band do not carry any connotation of category, due to their fictional nature and lack of sound, the simple, monochromatic drawing alongside an equally minimal font complimented their genre-neutrality. However, when designing a T-shirt or poster for an abrasive metal band, the imagery associated with their work would have far more factors to consider to avoid being portrayed with the same typography and layout as a piece of merchandise for a strictly religion-orientated folk band. In conclusion, drawing manages to define itself as a necessity in almost all walks of life, from its practical function in a professional environment to its personal use in helping a person discover and analyse their world with more attention and focus than would have ever been achieved otherwise. Furthermore, in terms of its role in the music industry, drawing in the modern world has become essential for musicians to consider and thus incorporate when producing their work. It was through my active practice of designing my fictional band a piece of physical merchandise that drawing furthered my understanding of its role as a practice within music.
Melissa Locker (2013) Music merchandise goes beyond the T-shirt [online] Available from: www.fortune.com/2013/08/13/ music-merchandise-goes-beyond-the-t-shirt [06/02/2016] Creative Bloq (2013) The best album art of 2012 [online] Available from: www.creativebloq.com/best-albumart-2012-113322 [06/02/2016] Dazed (2010) alex Steinweiss: the art of music [online] Available from: www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/21648/1/ alex-steinweiss-the-art-of-music [07/02/2016] Helmut Gernsheim (1986) A Concise History of Photography [online] Available from: www.photoquotes.com/showquotes. aspx?id=665&name=Ruskin,John [08/02/2016] Wimp (2015) How Drawing Helps Us Understand our World [online] Available from: http://www.wimp.com/drawing-world/ [08/02/2016] The Big Draw (2014) Why is Drawing Important [online] Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEIiUs7eg7c [08/02/2016] The School of Life (2015) Why We Should Draw More (And Photograph Less) [online] Available from: https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=k1eHm0PNnjo [08/02/2016]