expressive gestures
“Drawing is like making an expressive gesture with the advantage of permanence. “
- Henri Matisse
I sometimes like to think about the difference between drawing and painting. I am not sure that there is one, but at times I am convinced that I dont want to “draw” with paint – but I want to “paint” with paint. So, then I think, maybe there is.
“Expressive Gesture” sounds like dance. I did a lot of dance in the first half of life. My mom is a dancer. I danced in Vancouver for a spell at the “Western Front” with Peter Bingham. That whole experience was profoundly transformative for me. It was the best therapy, and I felt like I became a full person during that time. The thing I remember Peter saying to me during that difficult time in my life, when I was applying for Grad school, and trying to figure out my own identity was “Never let anyone jeopardize the integrity of what you do.” I was so stunned that a person could formulate a sentence like that in casual conversation, and I wasn’t really sure what he meant, that I remembered it, and reflect on it still today.
Anyone who has done some improv dance may say that it had profoundly affected them. Improv dance, or acting, is like practice for living. And I guess, painting, or drawing, is improv, with the advantage of being able to keep a record of it. Thats a lovely thought – Matisse. Thanks.
And, yes. The socks were his choice.
