Body Language

 After some brainstorming, research and a lot of tutor chats, I think I’ve come up with a name for my current and a little bit of my future work. I intend to tall this project “Body Language”. The basic definition of body language is a type of nonverbal communication in which physical behaviours, as opposed to words, are used to express or convey information. Such behaviour includes facial expressions, body posture, gestures, eye movement, touch and the use of space. Body language exists in both animals and humans. Body "language" must not be confused with sign language, as sign languages are languages and have their own complex grammar systems, as well as being able to exhibit the fundamental properties that exist in all languages. Body language, on the other hand, does not have a grammar system and must be interpreted broadly, instead of having an absolute meaning corresponding with a certain movement, so it is not a language and is simply termed as a "language" due to popular culture.1 

My use of this term is a play on words using “language” not as a non-verbal term but a literal term in the form of words. I intend to draw the body with language rather than lines and shading, although creating an image nonetheless. The use of my own handwriting is vital here as it adds a personal element and sense of ownership over the words I write. Additionally, handwriting is unique to each person, much like a fingerprint.2

My main influence of this concept came from Fiona Banner’s 2006 drawing “Nude Standing”. MoMA describes it as “In this monumental drawing, Banner narrates a detailed portrait of a nude woman, calling attention to the act of viewing and critiquing the ubiquity of the female nude in the history of art. "Using words as opposed to line and colour is a way of being able, on my own personal turf, to reinvent the nude," Banner has said. Faintly visible in the background is a shadowy image of an aeroplane’s tail fin—the remnant of a larger series in which the artist worked with descriptions and actual parts of fighter planes and helicopters. Banner, a member of the Young British Artist cohort that emerged in London in the 1990s, is interested in the intersection of war and beauty in Western cultural memory.”3 Also, writing by hand offers a sense of personal achievement and ownership that typing simply cannot emulate, don’t get me wrong, a lot goes into typing up a book or manuscript although nothing quite beats the strain in a writers wrist or pinky cramp from putting effort into your work.

 

Through Banners work “Body Language” means two things, 1) how the body can be read in reality and 2) how words can be used to describe the body so it can be read. Quite literally language for the body. I too, want to create a written narrative that will allow my audience to see a scene so clearly as if it were a visual image. However, I need to be mindful that if I make something too detailed then it leaves no room for imagination and then I might as well have an image for my audience. Like Banner I will try to use a live model to curate the writings rather than making a scene up in my head, not only will this help with my accuracy, but also drawing from a 3D form (to understand shape/ shadow. Movement (ie breathing) and how that affects the form) is more helpful than a flat 2D image of a photo. I’ll also take the opportunity to practise life drawing which I consider a basic skill I art, even if my drawings aren’t realistic, the practice of recording what I see down on paper is what I aim to improve. Further exploration in Banner’s work and how i am reacting to it will be written up in a future essay about my practice. 

Below are examples of my figure drawings, while I can create successful visual drawings, again, I want to explore forms through the use of language, rather than drawings, at least in the concept of “Body Language”. Having said that, I intended to use handwriting for these description portraits so in a way, I am “drawing” although instead of form and shading the lines will be in cursive/ or capital letters (which can be seen as different shaped dashes curated to look like the English language). Usually in writing capitalization is used to bring emphasis to a word, or to start a sentence, although with everything capitalized it suggests everything is of importance as if it’s screaming out and far more violent than quiet cursive lettering. Furthermore, when you look at how those from other countries write their English language characters compared to natives, it is clear to see that handwriting is not only unique to each person but also unique to each country. For example, British natives often cross their T’s once they have completed the word they are writing, whereas non-native English writers might cross the T as soon as they form the letter because of how they were taught. As seen below I have a style when it comes to drawing and I hope I can create a similar style with my writing like a personal stamp of sorts.4 

  

Erotica literature is a huge influence of mine when it comes to reading and writing as they present a very strong mental image for the audience to step into. However, while my drawings could be seen as pornographic in nature, writing isn’t held to such censors. Writing the words “tits” is more acceptable than flat out drawing a pair of breasts, however in a uni bubble ill still need to announce sexual themes for when it comes to exhibitions. Although, like Banner, within Body Language, I am free to use my own colloquial language for descriptors while also interpreting the form in front of me. I do not want to conflate the idea that a nude woman is automatically sexual and therefore an ingredient in erotic literature, but it’s important to note where my influences came from and how I want to develop them. Within my written narratives I will simply be describing a body in front of me, she is the scene, the object of my art and the subject of writing. In an art world, works considered degrading or exploitative tend to be classified by those who see them as such, as "porn" rather than as "erotica" and consequently, pornography is often described as exploitative or degrading.5 Although what was interesting to learn was the quote from the anti-pornography activist Andrea Dworkin, "Erotica is simply high-class pornography; better produced, better conceived, better executed, better packaged, designed for a better class of consumer.”6

1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_language 

2 https://www.thepencompany.com/blog/handwriting/what-are-the-12-characteristics-of-handwriting/ 

3 https://www.moma.org/collection/works/102559 

4 https://www.thepencompany.com/blog/handwriting/why-handwriting-is-so-important/ 

5 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erotica 

6  Dworkin, Andrea (1981). Pornography: Men Possessing Women. p. 39.