Year 12 abstraction 2

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Non Objective Art
ABSTRACT / abstraction
Non Objective Art.
[progress abstraction]

Top tip. DRAWING
Drawing is more than a tool for rendering and
capturing a likeness. It is a language with its own
syntax, grammar, and urgency.
Learning to draw is about
learning to see. In this way, it is a
metaphor for all art activity. Whatever it’s form,
drawing transforms perception and thought into
images and teaches us how to think with our eyes.
Top tip. DRAWING draw draw draw
101 Things to Learn in Art School by Kit White

Artists, ideas,
place, critics etc…
Everything you know
and everything you
think you know about
Abstract Art here.
Task 1a
We’ll come back to the list later
Listen and follow
the instructions.
List.

mini task 1b
You die and you’re going
to come back as an
abstract artwork of your
choice, what art work are
you going to be and why?
Teacher instructions: For this bit you’re going to need some books on Abstract Art to help
establish a pool of artists and their work to choose from. HOMEWORK ELEMENT TO THIS TASK.

The Rules Of Abstraction With Matthew Collings 1/6
The Rules of Abstraction with Matthew Collings is a very
brilliant exploration of Abstract Art. Make a note of it
because we don’t really have time to watch it in class.
You should watch it in your own time and pay close
attention. Think about watching this programme as
research. Nurtured knowledge will contribute to your
decision making.
These are a few of
Matthew’s books.
Interesting and
helpful

“A drawing is simply a
line going for a walk.”
“A line is a dot that went for a walk.”
Paul Klee.
Paul Klee 1879 – 1940 German Swiss
1) Paul Klee The Silence of the Angel (2005)
2) Faris Badwan on Paul Klee | TateShots
Mr Makers briliant
child friendly
explanation.
1) The Silence of Angels = A in depth telling of
Klee’s ideas, teaching and creative journey.
2) Faris Badwin of The Horrors talks about his
encounter with Klee’s work.
Mister Maker's
Arty History:
Paul Klee

“The history of
abstract art is
routed in a history
of
experimentation.”

TASK 2: [IN THE EVENT OF A Sunny day]
SOMETIMES DOING SOMETHING POETICAL CAN
BECOME POLITICAL and SOMETIMES DOING
SOMETHING POLITICAL CAN BECOME POETICAL.
Francis Alys The Greenline
17.45 minutes

Homework: String line drawing
Take 3 balls of wool or thread and make a line drawing with it. Connect the ends of
the 3 different balls and make a continuous drawing with them, similarly to what
you did with the water line drawing you made in class. Your drawing doesn’t have
to be restricted to the ground. Think of other ways you can use the line and an
environment to make a drawing with these materials. Photograph your work and
bring your photos to the next lesson.

Take a bottle and make a tiny hole in the
top. Check that you’re happy with the way
the water flows out of it.
TASK 3a
• Now go outside and take a
line for a walk.
• Document your line by
photographing it.
• Document your line by
filming it.
Walking
Drawing

Michael Criag-Martin,
Oak Tree, 1973
This work is conceptual and not
abstract but it’s included here to
show the use of water in an artwork.
Drinking water
Drawing water
Stop. Teacher message.
Dear teacher don’t show the next slide yet. It contains
the instructions for the next task. Please, switch off
the projector and slowly work your way through the
instructions.
Silence or music. You decide.
• Hiroshi Yoshimura – Music For Nine Post Cards
• Brian Eno - New Space Music
Follow the instructions on the next
slide before doing the next task.

This is how you
make a simple
booklet.
Follow the step
by step
instructions.
This booklet is
for your
drawings.
1 2
3 4
5 6

Task 3: Mouth and Meaning
Materials /Drawing tools, ink, paper, cup of drinking water.
This workshop will work best if everyone involved is prepared to participate
quietly and refrain from speaking during activities.
This activity invites contemplations and the gathering of sensory awareness.
3b Slow drinking of water
• Look at the water. DRAW THE SURFACE OF THE WATER.
• Slowly pick up the cup, hold it in your hand and smell the water. DRAW.
• Put the tip of your tongue in the water and taste it. DRAW THE EXPERIENCE.
• Slowly take a sip of water. DRAW THE JOURNEY THE WATER MAKES
• Feel the water in your mouth, against your tongue and inside your mouth.
Hold this water in your mouth, before swallowing it.
DRAW THE SPACE THE WATER CURRENTLY OCCUPIES.
• When you choose to swallow, see if you can observe the nature of the
experience. DRAW IT.
• Continue to contemplate, sense, sip the water and appreciate the experience
for approximately 5 minutes. DRAW THE WHOLE THING. ADD ONE OTHER
COLOUR.

Instructions
1. Choose three of the dry media available.
2. Feel the inside of your mouth with your tongue.
3. Get a sense of shapes and textures, proportions, subtle changes of surface.
4. Close your eyes and use the media you have chosen to create a one minute
drawing of what you feel. Only think about the contour shape and texture of
your mouth, no detail.
5. Change your media and focus on a different sensation in your mouth to draw
for another minute. It’s fine if your second drawing overlaps the first one.
6. Repeat the process again one last time.
3c:
Teacher, change where people are sat in the room.
SIT COMFORTABLY, WITH SPACE AROUND YOU.
EXPLAIN THAT FOR THIS ACTIVITY THERE IS ONLY DOING.
Feel the inside of your mouth with your tongue.
Get a sense of shapes and textures, proportions, subtle changes of surface.
Homework: Drawing Tools

‘Feeling the mark’ being made on the paper
has to be consciously realised and learnt. It is
a feeling that is made visible by focusing into
and squeezing out of your media a lighter,
darker, thinner, thicker, twisted mark which
is made in response to what is seen at that
precise moment.
You must learn to see as you feel as you
discover as you draw, as a simultaneous act.

Mind Breath, Julie Mehretu, 2010

3d: Mouth Interior Revisited
Repeat the activity:
• With your eyes open
• With your less dominant hand
• On different types of paper
• In different media
• At a faster or slower pace
Mind Breath, Julie Mehretu, 2010
Conjured Parts (Tongues), Julie Mehretu, 2015-16
Conjured Parts (Head), Julie Mehretu, 2015-16

What is mark making?
Why use gestural qualities?
Mark making describes the different lines, dots, marks, patterns, and textures
we create in an artwork. It can be loose and gestural or controlled and neat. It
can apply to any material used on any surface: paint on canvas, ink or pencil on
paper, a scratched mark on plaster, a digital paint tool on a screen, a tattooed
mark on skin…even a sound can be a form of mark making. Artists use gesture
to express their feelings and emotions in response to something seen or
something felt – or gestural qualities can be used to create a purely abstract
composition.
Tate.
Drawing is about mark making.
Every mark has a distinct character and quality. Every mark is a signature. Variation in
pressure and weight is the visual equivalent of intonation. Marks, or lines, or consistent
weight or thickness surrounding a figure or object will flatten the image. Tapering or
breaking a line in a curve will read as such. Give every mark or line authority and make
sure it serves a purpose. Try to only use the marks you need.

Task 4: MAKE YOUR OWN TOOLS
Unorthodox brushes can create exciting
marks in a drawing. These marks can, in
turn, give a drawing an added depth or
texture that couldn’t be achieved with a
conventional brush.
TASK 4a
Lay out your homemade drawing tools
and photograph them before they are
used.

TASK 4b- Use your homemade drawing tool to make a record of the marks it makes. Fill the
grid provided.
Use the inks & paint provided to explore
the types of marks your DIY tools can
create.
Also explore using different concentration
of ink / paint.
In the grid

TASK 4c
Use your most successful marks and tools to create a large abstract piece. Consider
rhythm and balance in particular when creating the work.

Task 5: BLIND DRAWING
DO NOT LOOK IN THE BAG UNTIL YOU ARE TOLD TO DO SO
TASK 5a
● Put your hand in the bag and
describe what you can feel to
your neighbour. Be descriptive
rather than literal.
● Write 3 or 4 words that describe
the qualities of the object eg.
texture, weight, mass.
● Attempt to create marks that
visually describe the words you
have noted down.

Do any of the marks you used resemble the actual texture of the object? In what way?
Are you surprised by some of your descriptive words now that you have seen the object.
Would you describe it differently now?
Compare your object to the drawing

TASK 5b
BEFORE YOU BEGIN
Swap your object with someone else.
Feel your new object in silence for five minutes.
Write a detailed description. Describe the size, colour,
surface qualities and any special features.
BLIND DRAWING
Matisse. Extended reach
THE DRAWING
Create an ink drawing in response to your
description of the object
A1 / A2 paper on easels.
Stand behind the line.
Paint in ink with arms outstretched.
Vary translucency and concentration of the ink.
Push, pull, turn the brush, press firmly, press
gently in order to produce a variety of thinner,
darker or lighter marks.
Amy

COLOUR THEORY RECAP
You need to be mindful of these colour concepts to do the next task.
Advancing / Receding colour: Warm, bright colours
give the illusion of being closer to the viewer, while
cool, dull colours appear to be further away.
Vibration: Complementary colours of equal saturation
and brightness compete with our eye for attention
when in close proximity to one another
Weight: Colours differ in weight based on their hue
and intensity. For example, red is considered a ‘heavy’
colour and the smallest amount would demand a
viewer’s attention in a composition..

DEVELOP A PAINTING
TASK 5c
Choose a section of your ink drawing from TASK 5b to enlarge.
Loosely plan your composition in washes of paint.
Follow the directions given by your teacher to develop the piece.
Amy SillmanClem Crosby

AMY SILLMAN DRAWING LECTURE Conversation
with Amy Sillman: Drawing in the Continuous Present
AMY SILLMAN

AMY SILLMAN studio visit.
TASK Sugar. One Lump or two?
David Row, Al Held, Amy
Sillman March 2016
19.33 minutes in is when James begins talking about Sillman’s work.
Monochromatic drawings.
Paper, ink, watercolour, brushes.

Place 7 dots
randomly onto
your piece of
graph paper
Task 5d

Make10 copies of this
image.
Task
Teacher please give instructions to students.
Quality of line. Thickness, thinness, dry brush,
wet brush, steady hand, unsteady hand.
Range in line quality heightens descriptive potential: you
can describe textures, movement, light, space, etc. Using
many different kinds of lines in your drawing can add
visual interest. How interesting can a drawing be if
everything is the same? Even when the subject or content
of a drawing is not readily recognizable, varying line
quality can imply space, movement, light, and so on.

Sean Scully, Dorothy,
Paul Klee. The square and grid
are both devices used
throughout abstraction. Klee
was an ardent user of both.
Task 6: SQUARES & SQUARES
Sean Scully, a contemporary
artists, is looking back to Klee
and building on his use of
squares and grids, building on
Klee’s language.

Here’s Paul Klee again. The first thing
he’d tell his students was…
“The first thing you have to do as a
visual artist is pay attention to the
infinite subtlety of tonal shades in
nature.”
May Picture, 1925, oil on cardboard.
42.2 x 49.5 cm
Ancient Sound, Abstract on Black, 1925, oil on cardboard
Task 6a
Create a composition of squares in a grid
formation.
Make each square the same size.
Paying attention to Klee’s advice, only use one
colour and black.
The addition of black to a colour creates a tone.
Every square in your composition must be a
different tone.

x
TASK Sean Scully has made a career from painting squares, variations
of square and stripes. Take the idea of the square and make a
painting that is made up of it’s variations.
6b Repeat the previous task...
BUT DO IT SLIGHTLY DIFFERENTLY.
Create a composition that consists only of squares in a grid formation.
This time vary the size of your squares.
DO NOT USE RULERS OR A STRAIGHT EDGE TO DRAW OUT YOUR SQUARES.
DRAW YOUR SQUARE WITH YOUR BRUSH.
One colour and black. Every square in your composition has be a different tone.

Candy Skin
2017
Oil and oil bar on Dibond
112 x 86 cm
Clem Crosby English b. 1958 -
Shaker Loops
2017
Oil and oil bar on Dibond
112 × 86 cm
Little Wing
2012-2013
Oil on Formica mounted on Aluminium
6c: A different approach….

Libertine, 2011
Oil on formica on aluminium,
76 x 61 cm
From simple gesture with a brush to a complex layering of loops.
One brush. One colour with the addition of white = a tint.
In these paintings the same concerns are being considered. The same values are being
explored with a slight variation.

Vladimir Tatlin
Monument to the 3rd International.
Vladimir Tatlin - Russia's legendary
dreamer
Pneumatic Tatlin
For Tatlin And the
Hopes of All the
Ages
Watch this film to find our about
Tatlin. Watch the links below to see
how artists are still inspired by this
work over 100 years after it was
made.
Task 7: Tatlin’s Tower

TOP TIP… What the expectations are
*
1. Who? 2. What?
3. Why?
Why are artists, 100 years later still drawn to this work?
What was the wider context in which this work was made?
What kind of resonance does this monument have in the 21st century?
Good practice would be to find
out about Vladimir Tatlin and
what he was up to with his
Monument to The Third
International.
4.
Respond:

Task 7a: Stairwells and Staircases
Use the structure of stairs and their vertical
nature as a starting point for abstract drawing.
Stair Drawings by Rachel Whiteread

Penrose Stairs/Steps
The Penrose stairs or Penrose steps, also dubbed the impossible staircase, is an
impossible object created by Lionel Penrose and his son Roger Penrose. A
variation on the Penrose triangle, it is a two-dimensional depiction of a staircase
in which the stairs make four 90-degree turns as they ascend or descend yet
form a continuous loop, so that a person could climb them forever and never get
any higher. This is clearly impossible in three dimensions.
Penrose stairs
M.C. Escher
Ascending and
Descending.
Alastair MacKinven,
Andway Isthay Oreverfay
2008, Oil on canvas. 205 x 205 cm
An idea taken from
mathematics made visual via
an etching reinterpreted by a
painter

Alastair Mackinven
ET SIC IN INFINITUM
Et Sick In Infinitum, 2008. Oil on canvas. Et Sick In Infinitum, 2008. Oil on canvas
Use your drawings to develop an image of steps that confound the viewer. Use
a limited palette one colour + black and white with one accent colour.

Rachel Whiteread
Charity box, cast object
Rachel Whiteread, Embankment.
TASK 7b #1
Take cardboard boxes and make a
structure from them inspired by the
previous lessons in the Art foyer.
Use tape to stick boxes together.

Ai Weiwei
TASK 7b #2
Look over Tatlin’s
Monument to the 3rd
International again.
Vladimir Tatlin
Dan Flavin
A version of the
sculpture in the
courtyard of the
Royal Academy.
Take the boxes provided and make your own homage to Tatlin’s Monument The 3rd
International. Make a structure that gives you height as well as volume.
Vladimir Tatlin
Retrospective

TASK 7b
#3
Look over Tatlin’s Monument to the 3rd
International again.
Make an interesting structure with the boxes. Use tape to attach them together.
How will you make them balance. How will your structure be a homage to Tatlin’s
Monument to the 3rd International

Martin Creed makes structures
(stacks using cardboard boxes
as well as other objects).
MARTIN CREED BOXES

Cardboard boxes are pretty much at the bottom of
the totem pole in terms of possible art materials.
They are cheap, disposable containers for other
things. Rauschenberg has said he tries “to act in
that gap between” art and life, and there's
probably nothing more everyday than a cardboard
box. He uses them “as is,” with their stains, tears,
marks and worn labels revealing their history and
creating a patina of wear and age.
ROBERT RAUSCHENBERG BOXES

(Rob Mon 4th Feb)
Draw from Tatlin Tower-
continuous line use unorthodox brushes / drip painting (?)- work big. Suggest the
space it is within.
Drawing your Tatlin Tower
Task
Continuous line drawing.
Use your unorthodox
brushes.
Suggest the space
it is within.

(Rob Mon 4th Feb)
Draw from Tatlin Tower-
continuous line use unorthodox brushes / drip painting (?)- work big. Suggest the
space it is within.
Drawing your Tatlin Tower
Task
Draw from Tatlin Tower
Observe negative space using cut paper (Matisse),
Fabric (Elana Herzog)
Henri Matisse, The Snail , 1953
cut out paper. Tate Modern.
Elana Herzog, BRIC
Exhibition Artist | BK Stories
Elana Herzog = Her work tells a history of
evolution yet alludes to the ruinous fate
of objects, nature, order, and social
structures.

Competition: Drawing Machine.
Make a drawing machine.
These should be simple drawing machines, not complicated ones.
Simple elastic bands, wound up, felt pens (because they mark a quick
visible mark)…
http://picdeer.org/b6fc_artanddesign
https://www.instructables.com/id/DoodleBot360/
https://sketchinnovation.wordpress.com/tag/drawing-machine/

Drawing Machine.
Take your drawing machines and get them to make
a drawing in class.
Make a new quick drawing machine in class.
What kinds of marks is your machine capable of
making?
What could you use to make a drawing machine.
Not so much a machine as a device that will record
mark making for you.

Year 12 abstraction 2

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