A drawing hangs in the middle

Junuka Deshpande

This exposition is based on a project that explored observation of a crossroad through drawings. The drawings are made from the same place on a sidewalk observing the same square over 30 days. During this process, I tried to explore how a continuous observation of a space and the outcome of the process evokes a certain sense of connectedness and reflexive dialogue with the place and its elements- visible and invisible. This artistic research contemplates on the idea of too early too late through the process of drawing where the drawing emerges in the moment, while can be anticipated early and interpreted in hindsight. My exposition considers the act of drawing as an embodied form of recording as opposed to drawing as an image-making (representational) exercise. This process of drawing becomes an engagement with the existing spatial elements, arrangements, their interconnections and importantly, with the self, that is observing. Along with the external engagement and a dialogue with the space, the moment of drawing is both- the outcome of observation and a connection in the moment of making it. This tension between an immediacy in the moment of drawing and the reflectivity in the process of meaning-making of the drawings creates a parallel relationship between an immediate present and the immediate past. The empty space on the surface before drawing, therefore becomes a potential space to record moments from the space around and to remember the moments that are passing by. The work, in the form of drawings of various sizes aspires to present the engagement with the space. The work also gives me an opportunity to find critical moments in the records of time, memory and space. The drawing as an outcome hence, hangs in the middle between the moment of record and moment of being.

Fragmenting :

A series of drawings

as I was trying to ground myself in one observation , in parts and as a whole.

Arriving:

A series of drawings that were made as I observed the crossroad, as each observation lead me to the next.

Moment-ing presence:

A series of drawings that observe big presences and absences in a matter of a moment on a small street

Introduction

The exposition is presented through four sections of drawings and an audio-visual work that elaborate upon the idea of being in the moment with repeated observations of one space through drawing as medium. The first section 'Arriving' reflects the process of observation that started from where I sat and developed further as I looked at the arrangements around of people and space. Moving away from the pre-decided plan of observation, the immersion into space took place through the act of looking and drawing . The second section features four drawings of the same place in a bigger place where I began observing parts and the whole, trying to connect the lines and details as I understood them in relation with each other. The third section highlights a big idea that emerged after I did the drawings of presences and absences as they occured on the street while the last section documents exampls of close observations of micro spaces on the street where I started to look deeper into crevices. The moment of connectedness with the outside connects me to spaces within, as the drawings hang in moment, in the tension between the before and the after , between the early and the late. They also hang between the inside and the outside.

In the audiovisual piece here, I try to encompass the sensory experience of this connectedness through the sounds of the surroundings and the sounds that layer it through my presence.

Looking inside:

A series of drawings that came out of observing closer into surfaces and corners of the small street

References:

1.Ingold, Tim “ Knowledge,” In Life of Lines by Tim Ingold, 46-50. New York : Routledge, 2015.
2. Sennett, Richard “ Craftsmen”, In The Craftsman by Richard Sennett, 38. New Heaven and London : Yale University Press, 2008

3. Hopkins, Gerard Manley( 1844-1889) as quoted in The Essential David Bohm, New York : Routledge, 2003. Originally published on the web site http://www.bartleby.com

4. As cited in 'Epistemological and Pedagogical Implications of Constructivism: A Contemporary Contemplation’ by Benudhar Chi- nara,(Professor & Dean, Institute of Education, Visva-Bharati, Santiniketan – 731235, West Bengal) and Moumita Maji (Ph.D. Scholar, Department of Education, Institute of Education, Visva-Bharati, Santiniketan)

Constructivist:

"A constructivist teacher (Brooks & Brooks, 1999) is not a depository of ‘all knowledge’ nor does s/he try to get pupils to give the ‘right knowledge’, or ‘correct answer’. S/he rather, tries to get pupils to give their ‘point of view and understandings’ so that s/he can under- stand their learning in turn. Instead of presenting information to pupils, s/he prepares learning environments where they can discover and construct knowledge.”

6. Rabindranath Tagore, A Poet’s School, Rabindranath Tagore: Pioneer in Education by L.K.Elmhirst, London: John Murray,1961

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8. Subramaniyan, K.G., In Sketches, Scribbles, Drawings. New Delhi: Seagull Books, 2015
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D. Reidel Publishing Company; 1st edition, 1980

10. Sennett, Richard “ The Troubled Craftsmen”, In The Craftsman by Richard Sennett, 19-21. New Heaven and London : Yale University Press, 2008

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12. Behar, Ruth. "The Vulnerable Observer." In The Vulnerable Observer : Anthropology That Breaks Your Heart, by Ruth Behar, 5-11. Boston: Beacon Press, 1997.

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14. Wikan, Unni. "Toward an Anthropology of Lived Experience." In Resonance, Beyond The Words, by Unni Wikan, 82. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2012.

15. Wikan, Unni. "Toward an Anthropology of Lived Experience." In Resonance, Beyond The Words, by Unni Wikan, 60-63. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2012.

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