I started this research at an opportune time, having just listened to the latest podcast from Dan Berry. He was interviewing Joana Mori, and there were a couple of nuggets that really stood out for me the first, which is paraphrased from Berry's colleague, Sascha Hommer:
"Don't just take photos, a photo represents just one layer of reality. "When you draw, your drawings are a key that unlocks different layers of reality"
The other gold nugget of advice came from Mori herself, and really set the tone for my research:
"Taking a picture is like watching something happen. Drawing is like listening to someone tell a story about something that happened. "You not only listen and get to know the story, but you get to know the story in that person's perspective. And you get to know what the person thinks about the story, and what she wants you to know about the story."
I found these insights really profound and they really connected me back to the work of the previous exercises. It made me want to think more about why I make the decisions I do unconsciously in my sketchbook. Maybe if I can see patterns there, I can start to get to the bottom of the story that I must want to tell.
This research task to was review sketchbooks at http://www.book-by-its-cover.com/sketchbooks and provided me with a number of questions to answer for each artist that held my interest. There were over 20 that held my interest, so I'm going to go about this in a more methodical rather than narrative approach this time.
The Questions
Considering the sketchbooks you studied:
How do they respond to figures and environments?
In the sketchbooks that I reviewed, I noticed a huge range in how figures and environments were captured and interpreted. For some sketchbooks, figures are all about faces, and for others is the shape and gestures of the body. I feel very challenged by sketchbooks that depict figures and environments in a more surreal or abstract way. I am drawn to them, but then I feel a sense of emotional discordance.
Even when sketches of this style are done from life they are stylised and in keeping with the artist. I am equally envious and challenged by this. I have noticed, when I have picked up paper and pen for exercises in this section of the course, that I tend to focus and aim for realism, accuracy and true representation. I very rarely seem to ask myself what I want to say when I draw, and any editing or selections that I make are, at present, subconscious.
What materials do they use?
The sketchbooks were completed in a myriad of materials. All seem to be in actual books but there were many books that seemed to be hand-bound or otherwise customised. I didn't notice any that were accumulations of individual sheets, however. I noticed the use of ink (dip, fountain, felt pens), pencils and paint. Some sketchbooks seem to be exclusively black and white, where others are a riot of colour.
Some artists seem to be strongly drawn to ephemera and collage, and I was impressed by a textiles-based sketchbook which really surprised me. The vast majority of sketchbooks that I was strongly drawn to seem to use ink and colour.
Do they sketch quickly or are the drawings more sustained?
A lot of the sketchbook content seems to be made quite quickly, though I did notice some like to do longer, more detailed, and sustained images. There did seem to be a great variation in the more sustained images. For example, Mattias Adolfsson creates intricately detailed line art, whilst Renata Liwska's work is far more tonal in style. Where people focus on patterns they seem also to be done with care, even if the pattern is relatively simple.
If they draw fast how is this achieved, how is the content edited?
When work is done quickly the common attribute seems to be simplicity. When the work is more abstract or representative the artists seem to focus on essential details only. Other artists use contours, shapes and gestural lines to similarly focus on simplicity in the image.
Fast can also seem to be achieved by doodling and random associative drawing. Most artists seem to be a lot less worried about being accurate about things like texture; their images seem to be more representative of each artist's personal interpretation.
Which subjects or parts of the images are edited or stylised?
I seem to be drawn to stylised versions of things. I can only assume that this is related to the challenging discomfort I feel It's like my brain is trying to tell me that... stylised is ok, permitted. I seem to have been drawn to effective linework mostly. I also noticed that I'm less drawn to sketchbooks with lots of writing (like illustrative journals). I was drawn to a few sketchbooks where the whole focus was typography. These were inspiring and daunting at the same time.
How does the stylisation affect the communication process and the sense of documentary?
The more stylised the sketch, the less sense that it is intended to be reportage. I think though, that this observation was exacerbated by the selection of sketchbooks on the website. Most seem to be more general sketchbooks for the majority and less about trying to capture things in a reportage way (like Veronica Lawler's sketchbooks do, for example). I do, however, think it's possible to have a very stylised style and still give a sense of reportage. For this, I think to illustrators like Jonathan Edwards who have a very distinct style but give a reportage-like sense of place; capturing people and environment alike.
I think though, that stylisation works extremely well when it comes to communication. Rather than simply report life as-is, stylisation allows the illustrator to add emphasis and direct the storytelling. In reviewing all of the sketchbooks on the site, it was interesting to see Joana Mori's quote put into practice throughout them.
Are there any parts of the images that are unfinished and what impact does this have on the overall image?
For some of the sketchbooks, there seems to be a greater amount of incomplete images, so this seems to be particular to the artist's inclinations. Sometimes the incompletion seems to be through choice, either deliberate omission or abandonment. Where deliberate omission, the artists often seem to add in certain details, things like hands for example. This allows one's brain to fill in the gaps allowing for the overall image to work when drawn quickly. Where an artist captures multiple images on the same page or spread, having unfinished images seems to work well. When looking at the page you get an overall sense of narrative or focus from the artist's choices. The page gives you a specific impression in its own right, particularly when the artist is doing some kind of study.
Are there some images that you think communicate better when drawn slowly?
Some images work better when done more slowly and deliberately. I am impressed by detailed architectural studies, and also in detailed (particularly surreal) images like those of Mattias Adolfsson. In these works, the detail itself seems central to the storytelling. They are deliberate and carefully thought-out devices.
I think, however, that there can be another kind of deliberate. I think particularly pattern design is concerned. I believe that taking time with these images makes them more successful because the layout and compositions are better.
My biggest takeaway from this research exercise is that I need to be braver; to allow more of my personality and choices to come through in my sketches (reportage or not). I need to get over this implicit belief I have that things need to be 'right'. I'm just not sure what that looks like though!
References
Berry, D. (2020). Joana Mosi. [podcast] Make It Then Tell Everybody. Available at: http://makeitthentelleverybody.com/2020/01/joana-mosi/ [Accessed 26 Jan. 2020].
Edwards, J. (2020). Sketchbook - Jonathan Edwards Illustration. [online] Jonathan-e.com. Available at: http://www.jonathan-e.com/sketchbook/4519134843 [Accessed 28 Jan. 2020].
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