Drawing Laboratory: Research Workshops and Outcomes
Michelle Salamon, Associate Lecturer, BA (Hons) Graphic Communication Design, Central Saint Martins
I was compelled towards reading this text primarily because of my interest in teaching Fine Art Drawing as a subject, but also being that the papers roots seem to be situated in the Empirical Knowledge of perception, the using of senses as a central issue in Epistemology, grounded in how we see, hear, touch, smell, taste the world around us. How to think through the making.
The article discusses the development and evaluation of a pilot scheme called ‘Drawing Laboratory,’ a series of workshops conducted at Central Saint Martins in 2015. The aim was to explore the relationship between drawing and human memory processes. The project focused on using drawing as a research tool to develop thinking, improve concentration, and enhance memory. The article outlines the methodology, project aims, and workshops conducted. It emphasizes the role of drawing in encoding and retrieving information from episodic memory, proposing that drawing can serve as a valuable tool for learning and memory enhancement in art and design education. The workshops explored various aspects of memory, including muscle memory, remote viewing, suggestibility, and recall. The findings suggest that drawing can be a powerful mnemonic device, improving memory through repeated exercises and focused concentration. The article concludes by highlighting the potential benefits of incorporating drawing as a tool for memory enhancement in art and design education.
“Workshop 1: Muscle Memory. This session examined the transfer of short term to autobiographical memories. The workshop required participants to create visual evidence of their ability to encode and store information in memory. Each participant was given a different object to concentrate on, and asked to observe and draw it from 8 angles using a template grid. By creating a drawing from each perspective, they were able to analyse and record the object and cumulatively store the information in their memory. After completing 8 rotations the object was removed and as a “blind test” redrawn from memory. This process was based on de Boisbaudran’s nineteenth century workshops, which enhanced object knowledge by engaging a deep level of concentration through repeated drawing, recording a subject into memory in order to then visualize it from memory, in its absence”. (Salamon, Pg 135)
“Feedback forms focused on participant’s description of the recall systems developed during the exercise. Techniques for remembering the object included: analyzing structure; using the eyes like a scanner; using the paper template grid; symmetry; and association with familiar objects. Students reported improved knowledge of the subject. Through repetition they were all able to draw the item accurately after one hour of repeated exercises, and reported that the process of re-drawing was helpful during the blind test. One student described the object as ‘imprinted on my memory’”. (Salamon pg. 136)
“Workshop 2: Remote Viewing .The second workshop examined the ability to gather and recall information about a ‘remote target’, a life model located behind a screen, hidden from the viewer and separated by some distance. Students were given 1 minute to view the pose and then returned to their drawing space, gradually compiling drawings from short-term memory recall. This workshop required them to devise specific information storage techniques. After completing the drawing, participants were asked to write a paragraph of text documenting the techniques they used for recall.” (Salamon, pg 136)
Workshop 3: Suggestibility
“For the third workshop, the intention was to generate a group memory.
Students documented a series of events, drawn in different locations, and examined the suggestive effects of working in a group at the time of making the drawings. They were asked to create a narrative of the location to be recalled and redrawn the following week in the studio (away from the original location). The students were separated into 4 groups of 4. Each group was assigned a bench located around St Pancras Station, where they were seated in a row. The groups identified a common horizon line, such as the floor level, ensuring that it matched across all their four drawings. Individuals drew a section of the view in front of them, which when viewed side-by-side formed a panorama. This format allowed the students to focus on a larger space as a group, combining concentrated elements from individual drawings to depict a group experience and form a group memory.
To test recall and the suggestive effects of others, the groups were separated the following week and students were asked to produce one drawing alone, followed by another when reunited with their group.” (Salamon, 137)
“Workshop 3: Recall (part 1) For this workshop, students were asked to recall personal episodic information, specifically childhood memories relating to their first pair of shoes. They were asked to give form to personal items.” Salamon pg 138)
“Workshop 5: Recall (part 2) In this workshop students were seated in rows facing each other. Following a 1 minute period of observation, they were asked to draw a 5 minute portrait of the person opposite. On completion they turned away from the subject, and drew a second picture of the subject from memory. Each person drew all members of the group.” (Salamon pg 138, 139)