Experimental drawing - Jennifer West, Rebecca Horn and Elizabeth Hoak-Doering

 



 Jennifer West

 

Jennifer West creates these pieces by hand manipulating her film using a variety of methods such as dye, deodorant or skateboard wheels. I think it's a really interesting method of adding marks onto the images because she won't have much control and won't be able to replicate the same patterns again which makes each piece more original and unusual in my opinion. The vibrant, unnatural colours created are eye-catching and give the photos a more modern and futuristic feeling. It makes me think about how old photographs weather with age but with technology developments, in the future this is how they may look when they've been left alone for a long time. I also like the photos as a set in the big strip as I think they work well with the continuous manipulation running through them.



Rebecca Horn

 

'Pencil Mask' by Rebecca Horn was created in 1972. It is strapped around the face to 'transform the wearer's head into an instrument for drawing'. The pencils are approximately 2 inches long and Horn has described how she 'moves her body rhythmically from left to right infront of a white wall. The pencils make marks on the wall the image of which corresponds to the rhythm of the movements.’ This piece interests me as the actual mask itself is as much a piece of art as the drawings created from wearing it. I think it may be particularly successful in creating impressions of landscapes as the drawings themselves won't be very detailed yet I think you would still be able to create an effective impression of soft light areas such as the sky compared to maybe darker and denser areas such as woods possibly. However, Horn may have used the mask to create more personal pieces because as she said the marks correspond to her movements, she may have moved in a way which reflects her emotions or feelings to create a piece reflecting that rather than something which she can see.

Elizabeth Hoak-Doering

 

This drawing is from the series 'things, witnesses!' where Elizabeth hung objects such as an office chair, a bedframe, a kitchen table and a hat rack from the ceiling of a building. Motor sensors were attached so when people walked past, the object moved and created part of the drawing. This means that when the exhibition was initially set up, there was no drawing but as people came in and visited the pieces, the drawings gradually developed. I quite like the technical aspect of these drawings because even though you don't know how they will turn out because it depends on how many people walk past and when, they make interesting shapes and patterns on the paper. I also like the way that in the exhibition, although it's Elizabeth's work as it was her idea, she has no control over how the drawings will turn out. In some ways it makes them quite neutral as they are free from any pre-conceived ideas about what makes something look successful and appealing as it's all automatic.