Month: June 2020

Categories
Drawing Eye-drawing Hand

24: Leonardo da Vinci’s ‘The bones of the hand’

The decision to eye draw from da Vinci’s anatomical drawn notations about the bones of the hand was a different one from that of drawing Géricault’s. These hand drawings involve anatomical observation and notation Figure 52, where the underlying structure of a hand’s anatomy is drawn with engineer-like precision. The drawing itself seems to have been built in stages, starting from the bones and working up towards the sets of muscles and tendons. While eye drawing from these drawings, I attempted to follow and perceive this same build-up through my gazing. My intention was not to get an anatomical precision of da Vinci’s illustration of the hands, but to follow his linear drawn elements with my eyes.

Figure 50: One of the eye-drawings resulting from eye drawing Figure 52 at a distance of 50cm from the computer screen using the binocular eye tracker.

Figure 51: One of the eye-drawings resulting from eye drawing Figure 52 at a distance of 50cm from the computer screen using the binocular eye tracker.

Figure 52: Da Vinci’s notes and drawings about the bones of the hand, c.1510-11, black chalk, pen and ink, wash on paper, 28.8 x 20.2cm, Royal Collection Trust.

Categories
Drawing Eye-drawing Hand

23: Géricault’s ‘Left hand’

Many artists throughout history have drawn their hand for a variety of reasons. In her section dealing with anatomical body parts, Petherbridge (2010; 251-259) mentions how, symbolically, hands can allude to the individuality of the artist. In view of this she discusses Géricault’s drawing of his left hand, drawn in watercolours on his deathbed. He started by extending his arm onto paper, and traced along it, of which markings are still visible at the fingertips (Figure 49). This trace was the starting point for the drawing, from which he then built-up the image of his hand. Apart from the captivating story behind this drawing, now at the Louvre in Paris, Géricault’s very act of extending his arm and tracing it made me want to attempt to eye draw it (Figure 47 & 48). He might have started his drawing from a traced-outline due to his bedridden state, but at the same time, the gesture of extending one’s arm and drawing the hand is a gesture that shouts; “I am here, this is what I see and this is how I see it”. I wanted to eye draw it with the aim of recontextualising (and re-draw) this presence through my gaze.

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References:
Petherbridge, D. 2010. The primacy of drawing : Histories and theories of practice. New Haven: Yale University Press.

Figure 47: One of the eye-drawings resulting from eye drawing Figure 49 at a distance of 50cm from the computer screen using the binocular eye tracker.

Figure 48: One of the eye-drawings resulting from eye drawing Figure 49 at a distance of 50cm from the computer screen using the binocular eye tracker.

Figure 49: Théodore Géricault, La main gauche de Géricault, 1823, watercolour on paper, 22.5 x 29.5cm, Louvre collection, Paris.

Categories
Eye-drawing Practice-based PhD

22: Binocular Experiments

The experiments below consisted in eye drawing an aloe plant from a distance of about 45 cm by contouring/delineating the boundaries of the 3-dimensionality of my hand, using the Pupil Core binocular eye tracker and the Fingertip calibration method.

Figure 45: Eye-drawing of an aloe plant and pot

Figure 46: Eye-drawing of an aloe plant and pot

Categories
Eye-drawing Hand Practice-based PhD

21: Binocular Experiments

The experiment below consisted in eye drawing my right hand at a distance of about 45 cm and its reflection in the mirror by contouring/delineating the boundaries of the 3-dimensionality of my hand, using the Pupil Core binocular eye tracker and the Fingertip calibration method. 7517 points were recorded in 40 seconds.

Figure 44: Eye-drawing of my right hand and its reflection in a mirror