In this work, I am studying the first chapter of Drawing Now: Eight Propositions, which covers the theme of science and art, nature and artifice. My piece observes the motions of my dog’s ten puppies as they sleep, and gradually become more active as they wake. I am documenting the process of movement that requires erasure and partially finished bodies before the pups change position.

Through the movement in this piece, I am responding to Jennifer Pastor’s series, Flow Chart for the “Perfect Ride” Animation, in which she has seven images of a man riding a rearing bull. Each image has considerable motion and includes both light, faded lines and dark ones that bring the front figures forward and communicate which movements happened the most recently. Pastor also adds in a notable feature in this work that ties the image together and makes her intention of documentation clear. Pastor drew an understated arrow to simply map the direction of the motion of the rider. Her work is laid out in a way that critiques the scientific style of documentation.

I use Pastor’s practice of scientific documentation in art by studying the movement of my dog’s ten puppies. In this exercise, I chose to draw puppies, or lines that their bodies made, and continue drawing until the pup moved. Once the dog moved drastically, I would begin again. In some of the studies, each image of the pup is distinctly separate, and I layered them in other studies to capture the motion itself more than the figure and appearance of the pup.

Study One

This first study is a simple observation of the movement of puppies. The puppies were drawn and redrawn as the repositioned. This study helped me see the amount they ate, the positions taken in their sleep, and other activities like playing and using the bathroom.

 

Study Two

My second study compares the movement of a single, randomly selected puppy with its mother. The goal is the see the amount at which dogs move in different ages.

Study Three

And in my final study I observed the movement of a cat in comparison to a pup which is a similar size and colour. The goal of this was to note the amount of movement in each species for organisms of similar sizes.