marc van elburg homepage

free drawing

in the theory of embodied cognition a so-
called 'image schema' is a recurring,
dynamic pattern of motor programs and
perceptual interactions. (1)

for example when you draw a straight line
between two points; the combination of the
motor program that moves the hand and the
spatial information from the eye are
memorized as a single source-path-goal
schema

the structure of such a schema can also be
used to reason about events and actions.

in case of a source-path-goal schema a
person might- reason towards a conclusion,
run for president, or think of being 'crazy'
as being off the track, or that the mind is
wandering off,

imagine that free drawing is like a line
going for a walk without a goal (2)

and picture free drawings
calling upon different image schemas
executed with variable levels of control

and how this conflation of image schemas and
free drawing opens up a space where thinking
and drawing engage in a kind of dynamic and
excited productive mutualism

the art

[try writing rules that activate different
schemas ]

the disclosure of secrets (trigger)

draw a straight line ~~and follow it~~
(overcoding)

contamination and [compartmentalization ]

for scanners
a phase portrait gallery

(2017) :
PDF For Scanners zine

(a 'phase portrait' is not a portrait of a
person. a phase portrait is a portrait of a
state. in this case, a phase portrait is the
portrait of a state that is the outcome of a
sequence of actions.
the gallery represents different states that
can be read as image schemas of a continuous
drawing program in time )

notes
(1) mark johnson; the body in the mind
(1990)
(2) paul klee; pedagogical sketchbook (1925)

2.Free Drawing
Rules

3.Routine

4.Move by Nature