Drawing Upon the Eye, the Brain and the Heart

Abstract

Drawing is a foundational studio skill in art. The techniques of drawing are widely known, and teaching those techniques is second nature for most art teachers, to the extent that drawing is often presented as a purely technical matter. The primary agenda, sometimes the sole agenda, is how-to-do-it: how to do contour drawings, define mass in space, use a grid, form a gesture, and so on. By contrast, the concepts and emotions which are the expressive reaons for drawing are not so thoroughly known or transmitted. In the context of content-based art education, skills are taught not for their own sake, but as tools, as means for exploring, expressing, or interpreting something about the human condition through art. Framed within content-based art education, drawing techniques should be taught as the means for expressing and understanding some larger driving percept, concept, and/ or feeling. By making them aware that visual, conceptual, and emotional expression are at the root of artistic production, teachers give students access to meaning, direction, and structure which inform their drawing. Drawing thus becomes a meaningful and intelligent activity. Following is a structure for discussing the visual, intellectual, and emotional bases for drawing, described as drawing upon the eye, the brain, and the heart.