Essay by Emily Song for Contextualising Practice
Introduction
The tendency to overly control and calculate the result of an artwork during the process of making is something that I have relied heavily on in the past, and is a habit that I have been attempting to free myself from. My practice has addressed this inclination in different ways, using improvised and intuitive approaches to making to challenge this impulse. This is evident in my recent work, Departed (2024), a hand-drawn animation work consisting of almost 290 frames of individual charcoal drawings. This approach to the process of making focuses on a release from conscious control to explore a sense of energy and intuition through motion. This essay aims to explore this approach to spontaneous mark-making, contextualising my process through the topics of automatic drawing and scribbling, referring to the writings of David Maclagan and theories of Len Lye, as well as investigating my curiosity towards the energy of movement.
Automatic drawing and improvisation
French poet André Breton outlined the term ‘automatism’ in his Manifesto of Surrealism, defining surrealism as ‘psychic automatism in its pure state’ (1924). Heavily influenced by psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud (1997), the surrealist movement focused on revealing the unconscious to reflect the mind’s inner workings (see Chalmers 2020). Surrealism worked to revolt against the constraints of the rational mind to reject the oppressive rules of society (see Lusty 2021).
From psychoanalysis as a therapeutic practice in a clinical setting, automatism expanded into literature as a writing practice and extended into drawing, popularised by artists like Andre Masson in the 1920s (see Gibson 1985; Bauduin 2015). The technique of automatic drawing reflects the values of surrealism in its attempt to relieve the artist of rational control, allowing one’s hand to move across the paper freely in a way that is understood to reveal and uncover the unconscious mind. This can be achieved in different ways, such as approaching the drawing process while in a dissociated state or a self-imposed compulsion, which then tends to result in a fluid and gestural drawing.
Hence, automatic drawing assumes a certain spontaneity and improvised nature of making, where the artist’s intentionality behind mark-making is displaced, relying instead on something outside of one’s normal responsibility to indicate a deeper and more insightful reflection into one’s psyche and self. However, this concept can be challenged, as articulated by Maclagan, who notes that this ‘glosses over the fact that there is a considerable range of such drawing… some of which is well practiced and some of which is simply habitual or stereotypical’ (2013:14). This suggests that the insight one might read into the marks made by an automatic drawing process could be an inaccurate representation of the artist’s unconscious mind and inner self, as mark-making could be heavily influenced by practised mannerisms and a tendency to certain gestures while drawing. In addition, the concept of automatism as a direct pathway to access the unconscious is complicated in itself, as there is no definitive way to demonstrate if this really is the case.Spontaneous drawing and scribbling
In a contemporary context, the adoption of automatic techniques by artists has diverged from its psychoanalytic origins to an interest in playing with methodologies and their final results rather than prioritising Surrealist interpretations of unconscious symbolism (see Maclagan 2013). Although this deliberate employment of an automatic drawing technique exposes its paradoxical nature in attempting to achieve an unintentional result, it allows an artist to avoid an overly structured formalist approach to making.
Instead, this spontaneous approach can be likened to scribbling as a form of unconscious drawing, which pertains to a kind of rudimentary mark-making with unclear purposes (see de Rijke 2023). This form of drawing often results in gestural, non-representational marks that are spontaneous and impulsive. Although this practice can be viewed as pejorative and regressive, it can also be seen as a more authentic form of drawing compared to what results from training or expertise. It could be perceived as a more ‘pure’, as Maclagan has argued, sense of mark-making without other aesthetic or conceptual concerns in mind (2013).
This authenticity in scribbling can be associated with an innocence of creativity originating in childhood, where mark-making through scribbling was a part of learning fine motor skills, naive curiosity and an exploration into visual languages (see de Rijke 2023). However, over time, this sense of spontaneous and genuine natural creativity is, in most cases, neglected and subsequently requires one to engage in an active search to reacquire this kind of practice (Maclagan 2013). This sort of work ‘seems to have a force lacking in more sophisticated art — hence it is adopted (kidnapped, even) by artists looking for ways out of what feels like a dead tradition’ (Maclagan 2013:9).
‘All kids seem to be able to give art a go and keep their expression pretty free. This spontaneity, if it was carried over into the adult life—why, we’d be up to our temples in art! But no sooner do kids show this freedom then along comes their growing intellect and puts a crimp into it.’
—Len Lye (Len Lye Foundation 2020)
Len Lye and the ‘Old Brain’
One artist who adopted this approach to making is Len Lye, a pioneer of experimental films, who combined animation techniques with the method of scratching directly onto film. Using the technique of automatic drawing as a starting point for his animations, Lye transformed this approach by focusing on notions of kinetic energy and movement, using hand-painted forms to create twisting lines, grids, and dancing organic shapes.
The technique of automatic drawing was ‘increasingly important for [Lye] as a source of images and “energy signs”’, to focus on what he termed the ‘old brain’ (quoted in Armstrong 2001:176). This concept was his interpretation of the surrealist’s “unconscious”, describing the body’s deepest level of intuitive awareness and emphasising the body over the mind. Here, instead, Lye aimed to contextualise the bodily unconscious with a return to the senses of movement and motion, describing movement as the ‘language of life’ and as ‘the earliest language’ (quoted in Armstrong 2001). His belief in spontaneity and authenticity of creativity in childhood, identified as part of the ‘old brain’, is described in the quote above. His practice attempted to oppose the emerging rationalism that establishes itself through the maturation into adulthood as part of the ‘new brain’ (Len Lye Foundation n.d.). This is something I also explore in my practice in search for a sense of freedom through processes of intuitive mark-making and scribbling, which will be discussed below.
Trusting the process
My work, Departed (2024), considers similar notions to Lye’s approach to understanding his film practice. This work arose from not only a desire to explore movement through the medium of animation, but also to pursue a sense of freedom without being tied down to concerns of depicting certain imagery or conveying an intentional message. Through the process of making I have attempted to achieve an innocence in creativity and a sense of authenticity.
This is reflected in the speed of the drawing process, intentionally allowing messiness and rapid mark-making that aligns with notions of scribbling. My deliberate use of charcoal has also allowed me to realise a certain sense of freedom while drawing, as the softness of its materiality and looseness of its line encourages a rejection of a more careful approach. The process of creating this work, although I would not categorise it under the term of automatic drawing itself, reflects this sense of spontaneity and improvisation inherent in the approach to unconscious drawings.
Alternatively, this method of creation I have worked with in creating Departed (2024) sits in a space between automatism and conscious control. As my process of making includes moments of reflection (that stems from its form as an animation), this contrasts the traditional approach to the technique of automatic drawing, exemplified through Masson, who rejected describing a work as autonomous if the act of reflection intruded during the process of drawing (discussed in Gibson 1985).
Before drawing each new frame, my process included a consideration of the stimuli of each previous frame and the way the lines could transform through movement, but without visualisation of what the current marks on paper would become. To maintain an overall reduced amount of conscious control, the act of drawing has been approached with a certain energy and reduced inhibition. This created a sense of autonomy in the work itself, as the drawings seemingly manifested from under my hand without intentionally depicting the shapes and lines themselves. In addition, creating these drawings without fully understanding how the frames will play out to depict the formation of movement added to the sense of freedom and reduced inhibition, as it encouraged a rejection of being in complete control over the final result. This method of making relies thus not on preconceived notions of creating a storyline or narrative or communicating specific ideas, but instead focuses on the process itself.
This approach aligns more with art theorist Anton Ehrenzweig’s ‘technique’, who described this tendency to create more automatically as the artist ‘know[ing] only vaguely, if at all, what [they are] going to produce; [their] mind is curiously empty while [they] watch passively the forms growing from under [their] brush’ (Ehrenzweig 1953:33). This acknowledgement of a consciousness recognises that there still can be some fluctuating and irregular moments of awareness during even the most impulsive drawing processes (Maclagan 2013). Hence, this process can be considered liminal due to the nature of lying between consciousness and unconsciousness, being neither but somewhere in between (Maclagan 2013).
Movement and energy
Alongside the process of limiting conscious control during my approach to the creation of Departed (2024), another important factor was the exploration of movement and transformation through the form of animation. This dynamic of using static drawings to create flickering moving moments when formulated together as an animation reveals how, as Betancourt has articulated, ‘movement only becomes apparent through the pattern of its action’ (2011). This interest in creating movement and organically transforming lines and shapes stems from a fascination and curiosity towards reflecting energy in motion and translating this into creating this work.
This is also demonstrated in Lye’s work and theories. His films have been described to have a certain ‘kinetic integrity’ and ‘aliveness’ (Horrocks 2009:104), which exemplifies his interest in movement as an ‘expression of physical existence itself, projected externally and seen as a manifestation of life’ (discussed by Graça 2007:169). To Lye, movement was an essential component of his work and life, as he focused on developing an awareness of experiencing movement and motion as autonomous sensory phenomena over other forms of commonly prioritised sensory experiences (see Horrocks 2009). His practice was never focused on technical invention — instead, the concepts of movement and energy themselves were both materials and themes in his work (Graça 2007). Lye described this as his work serving to isolate figures in motion to ‘portray the fundamental force of nature — energy’ (quoted in Horrocks 2009:85).
Although my interest in portraying movement in animation does not necessarily arise from an inherent outlook on life, as it does for Lye, this stems from a sense of innocent curiosity about how objects can move and transform in space. With limited rational control, a sense of freedom and intuition has allowed for this exploration of motion, energy and transformation, giving rise to lines and shapes that seemingly grow and shrink, sway and dance, consume and fluctuate. As I cannot fully comprehend what the work will appear as until the frames have been drawn and collated together as an animation, the tendency for excessive control is impossible to rely on, forcing me to trust my sense of intuition and the spontaneous process of making itself.
Conclusion
Using an approach towards automatic drawing as a release from rational control alongside experimenting with a curiosity of motion and energy has led to the creation of this animation work, Departed (2024). The focus on the process of making, allowing spontaneity and intuition to guide my drawings without a preconceived notion of the final result, has encouraged a rejection of the tendency to predetermine the outcome of my art-making practices. This, in turn, opens up the possibility for an audience’s subjective encounter with the work, rather than executing my own intended narrative.
References
Armstrong T (2001) ‘Len Lye and Laura Riding in the 1930s: the impossibility of film and literature’, Forum for Modern Language Studies, 37(2):176-185, doi:10.1093/fmls/37.2.176.
Bauduin TM (2015) ‘The ‘continuing misfortune’ of automatism in early surrealism’, communication +1, 4(1):1-43, doi:10.7275/R5QV3JGQ.
Betancourt M (2011) On Len Lye’s kinetic film theory, Cinegraphic, accessed 8 June 2024. https://www.cinegraphic.net/article.php?story=20110430082518916.
Breton A (1992) ‘First Manifesto of Surrealism’, in Harrison C and Woods P (eds) Art in Theory 1900-19900: An Anthology of Changing Ideas. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, pp.87-88.
Chalmers M (2020) ‘Living as we dream: automatism and automation from Surrealism to Stiegler’, Nottingham French Studies, 59(3):368-383, doi:10.3366/nfs.2020.0296.
de Rijke V (2023) The untimely art of scribble, Springer Nature Singapore, doi:10.1007/978-981-99-2146-1.
Ehrenzweig A (1953) The psycho-analysis of artistic vision and hearing: an introduction to a theory of unconscious perception, Routledge, doi:10.4324/9781315009230.
Freud S (1997) The interpretation of dreams, Wordsworth Editions, Hertfordshire England.
Gibson J A (1985) Surrealism’s early maps of the unconscious, University of Virginia.
Graça M E (2007) ‘Between looking and gesturing: Pierre Hébert’s concept of ‘Animation d’Observation’. Observatorio (OBS*), 1(1):163-172.
Horrocks R (2009) Art that moves: the work of Len Lye, Auckland University Press, Auckland.
Len Lye Foundation (28 October 2020) ‘Len Lye talks about art – art of the old brain’, Len Lye Foundation, Youtube, accessed 10 June 2024. https://youtube.com/watch?v=1vall0Xk-cc Len Lye Foundation (n.d.) Len Lye talks about art, Len Lye Foundation website, accessed 9 June 2024. https://www.lenlyefoundation.com/page/len-lye-talks-about-art/4/90/
Lusty N (2021) Surrealism, Cambridge University Press.
Maclagan D (2013) Line let loose: scribbling, doodling and automatic drawing, Reaktion Books Ltd, London.