Sebastian Trzoska
Anna Eichler
January
25–29
Year
2021
Working time: 5 days, 6 hours a day on-line × 9 parallel groups of 10–20 participants per group.
Isolated space / Open gesture
About the workshop
Drawing is commonly perceived as a servile mean of art in the form of simple scribbles on a piece of paper to pass the time, a brief sketch capturing the essence of the concept, or as a meticulous study which develops skills of observation and mastering the tool to the level of craftsmanship. However, we draw kilometre-long lines with our steps in the city; we trace complicated figures when we cook, the tips of our fingers weave a fabric of lines around our bodies. And when we engage in drawing beyond using the wrist, then elbow, arm, torso, when finally, we involve the whole body, drawing is no longer limited by the edges of a surface and becomes a motion in space. It expands to the range of our existence, present everywhere we go, including the virtual space. Such a simple mean as a line starts functioning in 3-dimensional space regardless of its 2-dimensional character. All the qualities of space surrounding us and the movement of the body itself are captured in a simple gesture of tracing any line. Gestures become traces of presence; static lines start to gain meaning and their own 'light' - an apparent aura, their own integral space in relation with what is around them. Like a flickering of plains, a line drawn with a tool on a surface or line performed with a motion in space creates a cut, a division, which unveils the depth and, at the same time, the flatness of any given space or surface, that is – it's potential. This workshop introduces participants to another way of using drawing as a tool by translating its characteristics from the plane into space. The participants will investigate selected space in the context of movement, body limits, and a drawing trace as an extension of gesture. Through directness and the objective nature of a line, they will experience space and discover its potential from the level of their body as well as the remaining visual note.
This workshop is based on a highly individual approach to the method of work, execution of the piece and the type of the final result. Students may work individually or in a team. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask: anna.eichler@pjwstk.edu.pl
Materials & tools
Drawing tools (pencils, charcoal, chalk - students' choice), ink & brushes, sketching paper, B1 paper and/or paper from a roll, tape or Bluetac (Patefix, etc), cheap hemp string (100m+). PJAIT NEMA will provide paper for the workshops but it has to be picked up, by participants, onsite.
Workshop description
Schedule
Introduction: a brief lecture showing examples of drawing & movement strategies and works.
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Warm-up exercise I: radical angle
A model in a static pose in front of the camera, close up view at a steep angle usually impossible to catch during the regular classes. Dynamics of the static image based on perspective.
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Warm-up exercise II: movement capture
A model in movement, walking in and walking out of the frame. Drawing notation as a recording of movement.
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Warm-up exercise III: Continuous line/gesture progressing in time
Drawing a continuous straight vertical line with one movement - body awareness and body control.
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Warm-up exercise IV: drawing with body awareness
Sketching a model (or self from the mirror) using the whole body movement.
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Warm-up exercise V: movement map
Mapping everyday space in a drawing (where do I go? what can I reach?) and reconstructing a sequence of movement using a string. Drawing/installation created by movement recorded in drawing notation.
There are no limits as to the type of final work. The proposed outcome and strategy must be consistent.
Students propose the text (content, topic, communication, etc.)
Anna Eichler
Painter, educator, and art director of Redsheels, the female mural painting crew. She graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. Her practice as a visual artist focuses on interactions of colour in abstract landscapes and colour field painting. She teaches painting, drawing, and illustration at the New Media Art Department at PJAIT. She is the co-author of the ‘Women of Liberty’ mural in Gdansk, but she also designed for production and painted many murals in Poland, ‘Kora’ or ‘The postcard from Ursynów’ in Warsaw, among others.
Sebastian Trzoska
Visual artist currently living and working in Warsaw. His practice and research focus on the language of drawing, its nature, and its interdisciplinary character in modern art and art education. In 2016 he began his doctoral studies at the University of Art in Poznan (UAP), within the structures of the Drawing and Painting Faculty. He also works as an assistant at Drawing Studio No. XIII at the UAP. He teaches drawing and painting at the New Media Arts Department at PJAIT. He has also participated in collective exhibitions in Poland and abroad.