Thursday, July 20, 2006

An Exhibition About Drawing Conjures a Time When Amateurs Roamed the Earth

One of my students brought this article in the New York Times to my attention.

"We’re addicted to convenience today. Cellphone cameras are handy, but they’re also the equivalent of fast-food meals. Their ubiquity has multiplied our distance from drawing as a measure of self-worth and a practical tool. Before box cameras became universal a century or so ago, people drew for pleasure but also because it was the best way to preserve a cherished sight, a memory, just as people played an instrument or sang if they wanted to hear music at home because there were no record players or radios. Amateurism was a virtue, and the time and effort entailed in learning to draw, as with playing the piano, enhanced its desirability."....Something happened between then and now, and it wasn’t just the invention of gadgets that eliminated the need to draw." Read article here

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