Lecture 3-18-09

Trevor Flynne - Freehand Drawing

This lecture was incredibly insightful to me because he was speaking about drawing from a sculptural/architectural stand point where the drawing is not the final product but more a means to an end. He strongly emphasized visual metaphors - beginning the lecture speaking about the style of drawing where the exploration of form overpowers the need to render any sort of cosmetic precision of the exterior surface. He had a drawing projected on the screen and asked if it looked like some sort of round, hard winged/shelled insect, a stylized back with an emphasized spine, or a monumental face in armor. Possibly, can this drawing reference all three at once, and that's where the poetic quality of drawings comes into play. I thought this was so intriguing because this is what I'm achieving with my photos - not my drawings. I have in essence switched the roles, except with abstract drawings there is not necessarily a correct answer. In photography there is in essence a correct answer, not a right or wrong way of thinking of things, but what was actually photographed. So with my work I essentially take a photo of something (the "correct" answer) and as I look at it, I find that it relates to some other idea, and use drawings to cement that idea or "lie" in the mind of the viewer. I will probably use a title to slap the viewer in the face such as simply "Tree" or "Snow" that makes the viewer say what? Snow? Oh, those AREN'T clouds - why would I have believed those drawings. And hence I have found my sarcastic slap in the back of the head element! I'm so glad I went to this lecture.