Contract - January/February 2013 - (Page 128)

ILLuSTrATIonS: courTeSy MIchAeL GrAveS. TexT: rePrInTeD WITh PerMISSIon FroM The neW york TIMeS Graves’s drawings include a plan of a French city house (left); his sketch (below) of 16th century roman architect Pirro Ligorio’s imagining of the architecture that existed on the ruins of rome; and his sketch (bottom) depicting a portion of the Aurelian Wall of rome. PerSPecTIve Michael Graves on the Lost Art of Drawing The 2013 Legend Michael Graves, FAIA, authored an op-ed in The New York Times, September 1, 2012, titled “Architecture and the Lost Art of Drawing.” The following is an excerpt of the article. Architecture cannot divorce itself from drawing, no matter how impressive the technology gets. Drawings are not just end products: they are part of the thought process of architectural design. Drawings express the interaction of our minds, eyes, and hands. This last statement is absolutely crucial to the difference between those who draw to conceptualize architecture and those who use the computer. For decades I have argued that architectural drawing can be divided into three types, which I call the “referential sketch,” the “preparatory study,” and the “definitive drawing.” The definitive drawing, the final and most developed of the three, is almost universally produced on the computer nowadays, and that is appropriate. But what about the other two? 128 With both of these types of drawings [the “referential sketch” and the “preparatory study”], there is a certain joy in their creation, which comes from the interaction between the mind and the hand. Our physical and mental interactions with drawings are formative acts. In a handmade drawing, whether on an electronic tablet or on paper, there are intonations, traces of intentions, and speculation. This is not unlike the way a musician might intone a note or how a riff in jazz would be understood subliminally and put a smile on your face. As I work with my computer-savvy students and staff today, I notice that something is lost when they draw only on the computer. It is analogous to hearing the words of a novel read aloud, when reading them on paper allows us to daydream a little, to make associations beyond the literal sentences on the page. Similarly, drawing by hand stimulates the imagination and allows us to speculate about ideas, a good sign that we’re truly alive. contractdesign.com january | february 2013 http://www.contractdesign.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Contract - January/February 2013

Contract - January/February 2013
Contents
Editorial
Industry News
Product Briefs: Lighting
Product Focus: Bonaire and Buxom
Designer of the Year
Legend Award
34th annual interiors awards
Large Office
Small Office
Hotel
Restaurant
Healthcare
Education
Public Space
Showroom
Entertainment
Sustainable
Adaptive Reuse
Retail
Student
Designers Select: Tables and Desks
Sources
Ad Index
Public Interest Design
Perspective: Michael Graves on the Lost Art of Drawing

Contract - January/February 2013

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