In the first essay ‘Time taken and time told: Serial drawing as the becoming of now’, Joe Graham talks about some of the key philosophical concepts within phenomenology, which are very relevant to my current methodology, such as Husserl’s notion of the epoché and Merleau-Ponty’s ideas on intentionality and bringing a specific awareness to an object. A new idea that is presented in this essay is how to/how can you identify ‘now’. He highlights his way of thinking (which is influenced by other phenomenologist thinkers) about this by considering the present as a ‘stream of nows’ as past, present and future overlapping and loosely flowing into the following. This thought sounds a bit abstract, but in reality it actually helps with keeping a focus which I sometimes struggle with. Like in a meditation when I give my attention to something particular to ground myself, by thinking of the tactile in an isolated ‘now’ could ground me deeper within the thought process of creating the drawings. Phenomena that changes with time.

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Upon reflection, I didn’t ever consider, or intend for my work to focus on unfolding phenomena/changes throughout time when I began (it wasn’t my way of thinking about drawing), but really they are a record of the succession of different tactile phenomena throughout a set period of time.

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Another detail mentioned in this essay are the specific tools/materials used for his series ‘The Spacious Line’. He obviously needed a mark-making tool that enabled a fluid movement to help build and stick to a set rhythm so he used a digital ballpoint pen. This made me think of the contrast between our drawings. Unlike his drawings in this series which involve a process of quickly moving the pen in time with a metronome, the marks I make are produced very very slowly because of the intense concentration that is needed and the translation from tactile sensation into a suitable mark on the page (fine lines for minute details, smudged ares for softness etc.).

 

 

In the second essay ‘Rhythmanalysis: the line as a record of the moving present' which addresses the same series of drawings ‘The spacious Line’, the first striking point I came accross was this quote from Edward Hill (referenced in printed out essay in my studio space),

Drawing diagrams experience. It is a transposition and a solidification of the minds perceptions. From this we see drawing not simply as gesture, but as mediator, as a visual thought process which enables the artist to transform into an ordered consequence what he perceives in common (or visionary) experience. For the artist, drawing is actually a form of experiencing, a way of measuring the proportions of existence at a particular moment.

This is exactly what my drawings aim to present: a re-presentation of experience, NOT A REPRESENTATION. Reflecting further on this, this approach is quite far away from how I used to produce art at the beginning of this degree. I was very much caught up with symbolism and representations in my work, but now with this shift to experience and a particular focus on phenomenology, I feel that my work is perhaps stronger because of this shift and direction I’ve taken now that is is less based on external influences/ideas. 

 

 

To develop an understanding of this idea of the ‘now’ further, Joe Graham references an account from St. Augustine in Book 11 of his Confessions (original reference in essay),

But I confidently affirm myself to know that if nothing passes away, there is no past time, and if nothing arrives, there is no future time, and if nothing existed there would be no present time. 

This is quite deep, but it helps to think about what drawing is and what it can do. Through a discussion, how could we ever define such an abstract definition of time? Like Joe Graham, I believe that drawing is something that can record time through mark making; time unfolding - and the process that I have been developing throughout this term fits in with what St Augustine says here; to be aware that something exists (for me that is tactile phenomena), I can determine a present moment.

 

To conclude, thinking of this overall, I am becoming aware of how phenomenology is affecting my drawing and studio practice. I feel that it is a concept that has helped me to develop my methodology (I will write a post about this in further detail because it is probably the most important part of my work), but it does not directly determine the final outcomes. What I mean is that I don’t think of the drawing being a result of phenomenology; they aren’t derived from a philosophy. Rather, phenomenology has helped me to compose a method and the final outcomes are a result of my individual experience and thinking - reading Joe Graham’s essays have helped me realise this.