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Drawing Space [WORKSHOP]


Andrea Kantrowitz, State University of New York


If we understand thinking as arising from interactions between our bodies and the world in which we find ourselves, the medium where that happens is space. Spatial reasoning includes the ability to integrate different views of a single object and to imagine it from a variety of viewpoints. It also includes understanding spatial relationships between objects and between multiple arrangements of items within a larger spatial context. The mental rotation and transformation of objects and scenes requires spatial reasoning. The ability to imagine yourself in someone else’s shoes, seeing the world from their perspective, involves spatial reasoning. It empowers learners of any age to engage with their environment and to think in generative, potentially world-changing ways. (Tversky 2019).

The blank page can be understood as a physical extension of our minds. We draw out two- and three-dimensional models of real and invented objects, actors, and scenes, pull them apart, and put them back together in new ways. Drawing is all about the relationships and movement of forms in space. We make marks in two dimensions on the drawing surface and play with them in the imaginary three-dimensional space of the drawing. In daily life, spatial analogies permeate our thinking so completely that we usually don’t notice them. We sometimes say we need to "turn things over in our minds” when we want to analyze a subject thoroughly. We try to get "on top” of a situation, "cover” a topic, "uncover” the facts, or put something "to the side.”

As with so many talents, some people seem naturally gifted with spatial reasoning, but most everyone can improve in this area. High performance in spatial reasoning is crucial in most science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields as well as in art and design fields. It can be learned and taught and is linked with innovation and creativity across disciplines (Uttal et al. 2013).

This workshop presents two different ways of developing spatial reasoning through two simultaneous forty minute drawing activities. After a short intro on spatial reasoning, participants will be divided into two groups. The first group will be given origami boxes, and be asked to deconstruct them step by step, documenting the process through drawings. They will then reverse engineer the process, making a new piece of origami based on their drawings. If time allows, they will draw their own origami piece. The second group will be given 5-6 lego pieces each and will be asked to put them together. They will make two drawings of their construction, what they see from the front and then, how they visualize their construction from the back (without looking.) They will then give their drawings to a partner along with the deconstructed legos. The partner will then be asked to build the original structure from their partner’s drawings.

These two activities challenge different aspects of spatial reasoning. 15 minutes will be reserved at the end of the workshop to reflect on the two activities, and contrast and compare the affordances and learning opportunities of each.


References:
Tversky, Barbara. Mind in motion: How action shapes thought. Hachette UK, 2019.
Uttal, David H, Nathaniel G Meadow, Elizabeth Tipton, Linda L Hand, Alison R Alden, Christopher Warren, and Nora S Newcombe. The Malleability of Spatial Skills: A Meta-Analysis of Training Studies. Psychological Bulletin 139, no. 2 (2013): 352–402.

Keywords: Drawing, Spatial Reasoning, Spatial Cognition, Art and Cognition, art education, material inquiry


Biography
Andrea Kantrowitz, an artist and educator, is an Associate Professor and Director of the Art Education Program at the State University of New York at New Paltz and has lectured and led workshops on art and cognition internationally. She is the author and illustrator of "Drawing Thought: How Drawing Helps us Observe, Discover and Invent" published by MIT Press. She was a teaching artist in the New York City public schools for many years, involved in multiple local and national research projects that demonstrated the positive academic impact of an integrated art curriculum for students growing up in poverty. As a director of the Thinking through Drawing Project, she co-organized 10 years of international drawing and cognition research symposia and workshops, in collaboration with colleagues from around the world. She holds a doctorate in Art Education and Cognitive Studies from Columbia University Teachers College, an MFA in Painting from Yale, and a BA in Art and Cognition from Harvard. Her paintings have been exhibited widely and are in many private collections. She has curated multiple exhibitions on themes of drawing, cognition, and the creative work of artist/educators. She is an artist member of The Painting Center in New York City, and her artwork is also represented by Kenise Barnes Fine Art.