Derek Brueckner's Drawing Courses Information and Examples of Student Work: Assignment 2: Big Pure Abstraction/Modernist Drawing Assignment (Drawing Studio 2

Pure Abstraction / Modernist Drawing Assignment

What You Are Being Asked to Do

In this assignment, you are being asked to make one large abstract drawing (3 x 4 feet) using drawing materials that emphasize physical mark making, layering, and material presence, along with three or four smaller studies that help you experiment, take risks, and test ideas. The focus is on abstraction rather than representation, and on learning through doing rather than pre-planning. You will explore formal languages of colour, various shapes, space, and composition through a process of working, revising, erasing, and reworking over time. Progress photographs are required to document how the work develops over time, including changes, edits, and moments of risk.

Focus

Intuitively exploring the formal languages and physicality of materials within the drawing discipline.

ART SUPPLIES for Assignment

Paper Requirements

Paper must be at least 3 x 4 feet.

Options available at the bookstore (Winter 2023):

Large sheets of Arnhem paper (38” x 50”).
Fabriano paper sold off the roll by the foot (just under 5 feet wide by however many feet are purchased).

Other art supply stores may also carry large-format paper. Regardless of where the paper is purchased, keep in mind that the paper should withstand light mixed media use.

Options for Other Art Supplies

Oil pastels, oil sticks, and chalk pastels to cover large areas quickly and potentially thickly (recommended options).

Be cautious when purchasing inexpensive oil pastels, as they often lack sufficient pigment and are extremely ineffective for large-scale work.

Acrylic paint as underpainting layers for drawing materials to layer on top.
Conté.
Coloured pencils (used sparingly to create coloured line).
Coloured markers.
Coloured ink.
Collage materials.
Chalk line (construction tool).
Rubber eraser.
Scraping tools for oil pastel.
Masking tape.
Push pins to hang paper.
Large plastic garbage bags or brown craft paper to protect floors and walls.
X-acto knife or scissors.
Large paper from the bookstore: Arnhem paper (38” x 50”) or Fabriano paper sold off the roll by the foot (just under 5 feet wide by however many feet are purchased) (Winter 2023)

Suggested Drawing Materials

It is suggested that students use coloured oil bars for this assignment, but as listed above, many other options are also available and may be used in conjunction with oil bars.

Drawing materials such as oil or chalk pastels that quickly cover large areas, offer strong colour, and have a physical presence on the drawing surface that allows for an investigation of mark-making are also appropriate.

Other coloured drawing materials such as coloured pencils, coloured inks, and coloured markers may be used for detail or fine line work. However, these should not be your primary drawing tools, as they do not cover large areas quickly and do not offer significant physicality in terms of material presence or mark-making.

Acrylic or watercolour may be used as a base layer or intermittently, provided that the overall work emphasizes drawing materials.

A fairly thick paper is recommended as a drawing surface. Some students have used canvas in the past, but be aware that the texture of canvas causes drawing materials to erode and wear out considerably faster than when paper is used.

The required 3 x 4 foot work may be completed on one large sheet of paper.
Not recommended: Joining smaller sheets of paper together to create a 3 x 4 foot surface. This approach is discouraged due to the seams created and the time required to construct the surface. If this option is used, the seams must be intentionally integrated into or concealed within the drawing. Work on the entire 3 x 4 foot surface from the outset, rather than drawing on separate sheets that are joined together as an afterthought.

Assignment Instructions & Objectives

Complete one large-scale drawing (3 x 4 feet) along with 3 or 4 smaller studies that emphasize concepts demonstrating the language of drawing and the materiality of drawing.

The language of drawing refers to the physical act of drawing with traditional drawing materials as a physical language in itself.

The work should demonstrate a range of formal concerns within the picture plane, including:

Strategic use of colour (high and low contrast and potential symbolic references of colour).
Shapes and scale shifts (variety in types of shapes and variety in sizes of shapes).
Composition.
Activated negative space.
Mark making using primarily drawing materials.

Some select collage materials may be incorporated, provided that all objectives outlined above and below are met. Every effort should be made to avoid representational imagery. As an option, colour may carry symbolic qualities within the work.

Specific Objectives for Assignment

Objectives Checklist (Student Self-Check)

Before submitting your work, review the checklist below:

☐ One completed large-scale abstract drawing measuring 3 x 4 feet, plus three or four supporting studies.

☐ A complex but unified composition with interacting geometric and organic forms and activated negative space.

☐ Clear variation in scale, line, shape, visual weight, and spatial depth (shallow to deep) achieved through overlapping and material use.

☐ Strategic and intentional use of colour, including contrast and emphasis.

☐ Drawing materials are used as the primary means of mark-making, with visible layering, editing, and revisions. (mark-making could include erasing and scraping)

☐ Evidence of experimentation, editing, risk-taking, and an overall unique approach.

☐ No representational imagery.

☐ Progress photographs taken throughout the process.

☐ Evidence of geometric and organic elements (large to small in size).

☐ Clear interaction and overlapping of forms within the composition.

☐ Work demonstrates experimentation, editing, and revision rather than a single-pass execution.

☐ Overall work shows innovation and a unique approach rather than reliance on a single repeated strategy.

☐ See Breakdown of Evaluation below highlighted in yellow that reiterates this checklist

Abstract Form, Space, and Composition

The drawing should consist of as many forms and spaces as possible, resulting in a complex but unified composition. Consider intervals (negative spaces) between elements and establish focal points where multiple overlapping shapes interact with one another while also engaging the overall composition.
Space should vary from deep to shallow through the use of varied line and shapes. Consider variations in visual weight across lines and shapes.
Avoid literal or conventional methods for depicting shallow and deep space. Rely on overlapping elements rather than perspective systems such as converging planes or vanishing points. Spaces and forms may be fragmented and/or abstracted through experimentation with drawing materials.
Consider the reality of the drawing medium (the language of the medium) on the two-dimensional surface of the picture plane. Explore thick and thin applications of drawing materials and varied mark making. Some areas may require extensive layering, while others may function with minimal application. Scraping and erasing should be incorporated during the process.
Take in-progress photographs at the beginning, during, and at the end of each drawing session. These photographs should document edits, risk taking, and sacrificial layering. Editing and sacrificing parts of the drawing are inevitable and necessary to achieve a successful work.

Studies or Smaller Preliminary Works

The purpose of the studies is to assist in the investigation of this assignment. Not all objectives need to be met in each study. Instead, studies should be used to take risks and experiment in order to explore some of the required objectives.

The studies are not intended to be small works that are later duplicated at a larger scale. Rather, the studies and the large work should inform and feed into one another.

Throughout the process, there should be a back-and-forth movement between working on the studies and the large drawing, particularly during the early stages. Studies may include digital manipulations of photographs of the large work taken while it is in progress.

It is strongly recommended that you photograph the work in progress and periodically produce inexpensive home prints to draw on. This allows you to consider multiple potential directions for developing the work. Experiment broadly and investigate various options across both the studies and the large drawing.

Steps to Consider for Starting and Developing the Drawing(s)

Avoid pre-planning every formal and conceptual component of the drawing before beginning. Attempting to fully resolve the work in advance often restricts experimentation and can hinder productive engagement with the process.

If you feel stuck or unsure how to begin, start drawing immediately using vague ideas and a combination of random organic and geometric shapes, similar to those found in some of the examples provided.

Prepare yourself mentally for a process involving risk, unexpected directions, layering, reworking, research, preliminary studies, critique, and sustained experimentation. Approaching the assignment with conviction and openness to revision will support a successful work or series of works.

Breakdown for Evaluation

Variety of shapes and lines (geometric and organic elements), including variation in scale; composition through interacting and overlapping elements; and activated negative space. This includes complex variety presented within an overall unified work: 40%

Strategic use of colour: 15%

Mark making using primarily drawing materials: 20%

Experimentation, editing and revising, innovation, and overall uniqueness: 25%

Submission Logistics

You are required to submit the following documentation (photographs) for this assignment:

The completed large-scale drawing (3 x 4 feet).
Three or four smaller studies.
A set of in-progress photographs documenting the drawing process.

In-Progress Photographs:

Take photographs at the beginning, during, and at the end of each working session.
Photographs should clearly show changes, most importantly show edits, layering, erasure, and revisions.
Progress photos should be submitted digitally on UM Learn.

Failure to submit in-progress photographs will affect the evaluation of experimentation, revision, and the work process.

Optional Readings (Assistance in Developing the Assignment)

You may consider excerpts from Search for the Real by Hans Hofmann, survey texts such as Art Speak by Robert Atkins, The Visual Arts: A History by Hugh Honour and John Fleming (7th edition, page 844), and the essay Modernist Paintingby Clement Greenberg. These readings may assist in developing ideas related to the assignment.

For a broader perspective beyond modernist drawing objectives, additional texts include Art of the Postmodern Era by Irving Sandler, Contemporary Art: Art Since 1970 by Brandon Taylor, Five Faces of Modernity by Matei Calinescu, and the essay Action Painting: Crisis and Distortion by Harold Rosenberg. These texts provide debates, alternatives, and opposition to Greenberg’s views on Modernism.

Contemporary Artists to Research

Alex Janvier
Amy Sillman
Clint Jukkala
Danielle Tegeder
Eddie Martinez
Elizabeth Murray (abstract work only)
Frank Stella
Gabriel Orozco
Gerhard Richter (abstract work only)
Howard Sherman
Jade Fadojutimi
Jeffrey Gibson (abstract work only)
Julie Mehretu
Lisa Corinne Davis
Marela Zacarías (wall-mounted painted sculptures)
Maryam Hoseini (abstract work only)
Robert Mangold
Rodney McMillian (abstract work only)
Sarah Walker
Valerie Jaudon

Examples for Guidance

The examples provided for this Modernist assignment are intended as guides. Not all examples meet all of the assignment objectives. Instead, they offer a range of partial ideas that can be synthesized and applied to the specific requirements of the assignment in a unique and innovative manner.

For additional student examples from a similar assignment in painting courses, refer to the following link:http://derekbruecknerpaintingcoursesimages.blogspot.com/2021/02/assignment-4-modernist-pure-abstraction.html