Drawing (a) Life Essay
‘The intensity with which a subject is grasped - still lifes, portraits, or pictures from one’s imagination – is the beauty of art’
- Paula Modersohn-Becker, March 1905
The scratching of charcoal, the flipping of the paper, the ‘umming’, ‘ahhing’ and of course the sighing. These are all sounds that are familiar in the life drawing room. The sounds that make the life drawing room like no other place on this Earth.
Painting people is at the core of my practice, specifically concerning my relationships with others, that I couldn't possibly put into words. It helps me to make sense of things that are happening, to ground things emotionally and physically. This for me is what painting is all about, it is a language in its own right, a form of communication that is beyond words. Life drawing classes at Arts University Plymouth have helped inform my work, the way I look, think and see the world creatively when approaching my paintings imaginatively back in the studio.
A common misunderstanding for art students is believing that if their practice doesn't concern people, then life drawing is a waste of time. Yet our lives are not isolated, we are constantly, directly or indirectly being involved with relationships with others. Drawing a human being teaches you many drawing skills which can be applied to, for example, a landscape or a completely abstract piece. It teaches you about sense of place, how shapes fit together within an artwork, where the border of your drawing is going to stop, and so much more. Everyone’s interest may not lie in life drawing; however, these classes are often beneficial for all artists as it allows you to increase your artistic skills. Proposed exercises within these classes often include transferable skills, such as drawing a piece in a short amount of time, which is a skill that students can later implement into their work in the studio.
But above all, life drawing is more than training your perception. It is in fact more than creating a successful drawing. Of course these are the foremost reasons as to why you would attend a life drawing class - to better your skills in your looking and how you observe. And the drawing skills you develop in life drawing are extremely beneficial if you’re attentive to the classes. But drawing human beings is much more than this. It offers the development of emotional skills in empathy, which is important for all students within art education to progress as artists and as individuals. It is especially important for 21st century art students living through a society which is changing. In a climate that is more inclusive to differences where all are respected regardless of gender, colour or ethnicity. We learn in a life room that there is a direct presence of somebody being in the same space which discusses dignity and being confronted by the ‘other’ person who is distinct and different from ourselves. It is about recognising their need to be alive and themselves. ‘Otherness’, a concept by French philosopher Emmanuel Levinas, is something to celebrate. He explains in his concept that ethically we are responsible for the other person in a face-to-face relation. He believed that theodicy was a way for people to comfort themselves about others suffering and that God does not hold responsibility. We are responsible for each other, no one nor God will save us; we must act ethically. The female gaze is an important term in which life drawing is encouraged as it focuses on intelligence and feeling rather than what the eyes can see through a heterosexual male's perspective of sexual objectification. People are seen as human and relatable, showing both strength and vulnerability which I explore within my own practice. I am turning the gaze on myself, enforcing the female gaze within painting my self portraits which evidences my curiosity of looking inwards, rather than how I look in the mirror or to other people.
Where else on Earth would anyone be able to experience such an enriching event if life drawing classes were not present in art schools?
