July 3rd, 2013
"And to pose means to architecturalize space."
--Salvador Dali, 50 Secrets of Magic Craftsmanship
Drawing from life is not only an important way for the artist to build foundational skills; it is also a chance to engage in a unique form of creative expression. The model who poses for the drawing serves as a muse that inspires the artist to transform the blank page or canvas into a blending of concept and perception. Three dimensional space and two dimensional surface engage in an interplay, an exchange of self- and other-referential meaning, as from a gathering and layering of marks and voids emerges the artist's interpretation and re-imagination of form and light.
Dali's idea (see the above quote) that the model inspires the artist by architecturalizing space may sound simple, but it sums up a lot of what happens as the artist views the positive and negative shapes defined by the model's pose and begins leave footprints upon the pristine stretches of the page. Rather than serving as a mere point of departure, the model serves as an entire locus of points of departure-- for the artist's journey as a pioneer out into the frontier.
