Ode to Stravinsky.

Betty Edwards, author of Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain and Drawing on the Artist Within, has long been recognized for her research on increasing one's visual perceptions to gain a greater understanding of how to better represent the world one sees. This understanding comes from shifting from preconceived ideas of what one sees to seeing with a fresh pair of eyes.

One focus of Edwards' work is on directional line. She asks the learner to see which way a line moves rather than to visually identify it and give a label to what is seen. In the language of line, a hand is not a hand with fingers and nails but a series of straight and curved lines moving in different directions. In this way, Edwards describes the shift from the left side of the brain to the right which allows for greater spatial awareness and the flow created by a different perspective.

The Artist's Interpretation

I explored Edwards' concepts with middle school students by assigning an exercise from Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain (page 52). In this exercise, students are instructed to copy an inverted line drawing of Stravinsky by Picasso. I photocopied the image for each student, enlarging the original to 6 x 8[inches] (15 x 20 cm). Then, I instructed them to invert it and cover most of it with a sheet of paper, exposing only about one-half inch at a time. They drew what they saw onto a 8 1/2 x 11[inches] (22 x 28 cm) paper.

When the students finished this process, they commented on what an odd character this man appeared to be. I realized they were viewing the Picasso sketch as a realistic presentation of Stravinsky not as an artist's interpretation of a subject.

Revealing the Soul

For comparison with the Picasso sketch, I found a photograph of Stravinsky by Armenian-born photographer Yousuf Karsh. I explained that the aim of a photographer is not to merely produce a likeness but to reveal the soul behind the face.

I told the students that artists give themselves permission to take risks, to alter and to reconstruct a subject. They have the freedom to include or exclude information in order to create an expressive work.

Taking Risks

With these two interpretations of Stravinsky before them, I asked my classes to be creative and to use their drawing as a basis for their own artistic expression. I asked them to make their drawing a unique artistic statement and encouraged them to take risks. I instructed them to use any material to add color to that image. Colored pencils, pastels and felt-tip markers were the most favored media.

The results were creative, diverse and humorous. Students began to construct the understanding that an artistic interpretation is an attempt to capture an essence of a person. Their own drawings helped them further understand that they also had the ability to reinterpret and view the world with new eyes.

NATIONAL STANDARD

Students employ organizational structures and analyze what makes them effective or not effective in the communication of ideas.

Resources

Edwards, Betty. Drawing on the Artist Within: An Inspirational and Practical Guide to Increasing Your Creative Powers. S and S Trade, 1987.

_____. Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. Rev. ed. Los Angeles: Jeremy P. Tarcher Inc., 1989.