Part of the research for my project ‘On Drawing’ deals with the connection between drawing and the digital world. In an increasing virtual society, one of the most obvious questions is: what will happen to experiential/physical activities such as drawing?
We know from neuroscience studies that our brain changes according to the environment where we live, the tasks that we perform, genetics, age, etc. That brain plasticity is more common in the first years of your life. As we age, it becomes extraordinarily more difficult, because the neuronal pathways are already shaped. Therefore, it takes an extraordinary event or a continuous action on time to eventually be able to change them.
As the neuroscientist Zoe Morris explained in an interview: ‘I would define neuroplasticity as the ability that the brain has to strengthen and weaken, as well as form and get rid of synaptic connections. However, it can also involve alterations in the myelin sheaths which surround neurons. This is often in response to learning. For example playing the piano and learning to juggle have been shown to strengthen connections and alter the white matter distribution in areas associated with fine motor movements in our hands (piano) and areas associated with reaching and grasping in our periphery vision (juggling).’
Evidence of the brain plasticity has already been found in the case of taxi drivers (Woollett & Maguire, 2011), as well as with people who practice piano extensively (Bengtsson et al, 2005, p. 1148-50)[1]. In practical terms, through functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), it is possible to scan the brain, and to evaluate a possible increase of activity in some areas of the brain associated with the new skill – for instance, a study developed by Woollett & Maguire (2011) showed that London taxi drivers have a higher rate of grey matter on the posterior hippocampus and lower on the anterior hippocampus than non taxi drivers.
Thus, and to go back to the subject of drawing in the digital world, we can easily predict that the digital culture in which we live now will have an impact on the functions and structure of the brain. That is to say that, because we are now using a different set of skills to perform activities that are increasingly digital, some of the functions of the brain associated with analogue activities will disappear gradually. But, don’t worry, it will take generations to happen!
If we look to the development of the human species, we see it clearly – changes in the size of the brain, fingers, hair, etc. In fact, we only developed past other species, because our brain is able to adapt itself accordingly to the environment where we live: As Bruce Wexler (2014)[2] points out: The most fundamental difference between the human brain and those of other mammals is the greater extent to which the development of its structure and function is influenced by sensory input.’(p. 142-167)
Therefore, one may ask: what will happen with drawing? How will we draw in the future? I am a paper and pencil maniac. Wherever I go, I buy a new pencil and notebook. They are never too good to me! Nevertheless, recently, I also started to draw digitally with the bare finger – as I don’t like digital pens – and it feels very organic. Somehow, it seems that a new organicity was born, because the contact between the screen and the finger feels very soft. The same does not happen with the digital pen, because the object intermediates the connection with the material.
Nevertheless, not all artists think the same way. Recently, I spoke with Daria Jelonek, an artist, researcher and designer based on London, who uses digital technology. She has her own views on this matter:
‘I was thinking about drawing, what you are looking at: back in the day, I used to draw more with a pen, but now, I am doing everything digitally. I draw in computer software. But I also think we draw in different ways. For example, a minute ago I showed you this augmented reality drawing, I think that it actually represents how your brain thinks about lines in the everyday. So, let’s say if I’d look around in this room to create a new artwork about this room, I would think: how would I draw a line through this space? I wouldn’t take a pen and a paper and literally do it. I think that I would rather virtually create a line to sketch and draw this room.’
Thus, for Jelonek drawing is a process born digitally, as she works in new media. That is perhaps related with the fact that, for people, born after 1989, the digital is the new real. As the project 1989 plus, by Hans Ulrich makes proof of.
The artist goes as far as to say that for her all projects are 3D. 2 D no longer exists as such – ‘If I for instance create 2D video material, I actually implement 3D objects in the two dimensional space of my computer. There is an interesting and shifting connection between 3D and 2D nowadays. I think that is why, when I am thinking about drawing, I am not thinking about it as a 2D image anymore, but more as a 3D sketch. ‘
Nevertheless, it is also true that many artists born in the digital era still take organic materials as a reference. It is not by chance that so many artists have turned to analogue photography, 8 and 18 mm film or even traditional crafts, such as sewing, woods, paper or glass. As Jelonek recognises:
‘If you think about drawing, the material is possibly the most beautiful thing. If you draw by hand – the material is the beauty. If you do virtual drawings, you could explore how to actually bring materiality into the process. Maybe you could feel the virtual drawing somehow through vibration.’
Therefore, it seems clear that for humans, real experiences are somehow essencial to their existence. If part of the process becomes digital, a new balance needs to be created, in which real experiences need to be put in place. Following Jelonek intuition, one may conclude that indeed ‘I think that we cannot replace real nature experiences. What I realise through my research and artworks is that you really need tangible and vivid materials; you need to touch real grass. So, you may have virtual experiences but it is important to have some real materials that you touch. I think that touch is generally very important.’
Daria Jelonek: digital artist, designer, and researcher who lives and works in London. Her work is situated in the field of interactive design and immersive art installations, with a focus on the relationship between nature and technology. She graduated from the Royal College of Art in Information Experience Design in 2017 and has worked as a researcher with Microsoft Cambridge,
Zoe Morris: graduated in Neuroscience by the University of Cambridge, she finished a Masters at Mountview in Theatre Directing. Morris is looking at how we can use our knowledge of Neuroscience in order to improve how we rehearse actors and is fascinated in the connection between Neuroscience and the Arts.
Note: This project has been supported using public funding from Arts Council England, as well as an Artist Bursary 2018, by a-n (Artist Information Company).
[1] Bengtsson, S. L, Nagy, Z., Skare, S., Forsman, L., Forssberg, H., Ullen, F. (2010) Extensive piano practicing has regionally effects on white matter development. Brief Communications. Nature neuroscience, vol. 8, number 9, 1148-50.
[2] Wexler, B. (2014) Shaping the Environments that Shape Our Brains: A Long Term Perspectiv,« in: Cognitive Architecture Designing Respond Environment, New York, pp. 142–167.
