I will be presenting on the Drawing Today panel at the College Art Association’s annual conference Thursday, February 13th from 5:30 -7:00 p.m. – to be held at the Hilton Chicago in the Lake Michigan suite, 8th floor. My presentation will be about 15 minutes long, and below is a short description of the material I’ll be covering.
Heather Mahoney, “Untitled,” Ink and colored pencil – Copy/Synthesize/Morph exercise (copying Ryoko Akoi and Daniel Zeller) completed for Intermediate Drawing Fall 2010, 4 drawings approximately 8”x10” each
Short Abstract:
The master copy has been a traditional element of drawing education for centuries, while contemporary students are endlessly consumed with defining their unique personal ‘styles’. To address these often conflicting foci, I have developed an advanced course that reimagines the “Master Copy” and exposes students to a wide range of contemporary and classical drawing artists.
The primary assignment — titled “Copy, Synth, Morph” — results in four distinct drawings: two ‘master copies,’ a synthesis of those copies, and a final, ‘morphed’ drawing, in which students integrate their own concepts to develop a new, personalized, visual language.
The project forces students to articulate their own drawing interests while practicing their craft through careful observation and replication. They are also confronted with a multitude of approaches to mark-making executed through a wide range of media and technology. While the process often catches them off guard, it allows them to approach various drawing challenges from a beginner’s point of view, releasing them from their often poorly-defined expectations.
My presentation outlines course expectations, a selection of supporting assignments, and assessment.
UPDATE: The material from this presentation was the groundwork for my recently published book, Remixing and Drawing: Sources, Influences, Styles