Studies |
"When you run into something interesting, drop everything else and study it."
– B. F. Skinner |
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The effects of language and schema on drawing performance |
INTRODUCTION
A primary strategy when producing accurate drawings from observation is learning to ask better questions about that which is being observed. A general question such as “where is it” becomes a more precise “where is it in relation to adjacent objects?” Noticing that one object is taller than another develops to become “in what proportion is it taller"? In essence, the questions become more acute, the responses more precise and the resulting description more complete.
Whether explicit or implicit, the descriptions being generated may as readily be expressed in words as can be made as marks on a page. Yet art educators of the 1980s, such as Betty Edwards (1979), became popular for arguing that drawing behaviour is better served when brain function associated with language—the ostensibly analytical left-brain mode—is disengaged. This notion has been widely disputed led primarily by findings in neuroimaging using fMRI and EEG. Furthermore, there is much evidence in cognitive psychology to suggest that, contrary to Edwards' opinion, there is no such thing as using one brain mode free of interference from the other. Scientists have had to grapple with the paradigm that, to some degree, “reality is perceived and structured by the language we speak” since Sapir and Whorf made this hypothesis (Hussein, 2012). Fielding (1994) has interpreted this for the current topic, asserting that whenever humans acquire language, it comes to occupy an anterior position as a planning and organizing tool in all activities, including drawing. In another vein, Toomela (2002) argues that drawing should not be regarded as a unitary ability, but rather a system of components including motor output, memory, perception, and verbal abilities.
Much has been studied and written about the ways in which drawing can influence writing, particularly in early childhood education (see Norris et al., 1997; Davidson, 2008; Liao et al., 2013). In each of these studies, researchers concluded that drawing before writing benefited writing performance, with Norris et al. suggesting (consistent with Toomela’s hypothesis) that this was “due to the integration of drawing and writing” as a mental activity. But, there appears to have been little attempt to observe whether language has a comparable influence on drawing, and none that we know of outside of studies in early childhood education. The current study proposes an experimental program similar to what Davidson calls the “drawing and writing series,” but in reverse: to use language (in our case verbal description) prior to drawing. Our focus upon university-level drawing students is based on the hypothesis that the interactions between language and drawing persist (and possibly become more sophisticated) as both skills are developed in the user.
This study aims to: (1) measure whether making a prior description in words affects a subsequent visual description when drawing from observation; and (2) investigate the extent to which a drawer’s pre-established drawing strategy may be identifiable when it is first vocalized, then observed in both the drawing process and the final drawing. We are terming "schema" that which observers bring to what is given by each momentary glance, which could be "a general image of what the drawing should look like when complete, or a set of learned strategies that are brought to bear on each new observational drawing task" (Reichertz, Maycock, & Klein, 2015). Cohn (2012; 2014) identifies the presence of schemas when he describes drawing as a system of representation and expression based on learned lexicons, akin to language, rather than simply a means of articulating direct “perception.” If this is true, then it is of great interest whether apparent verbal language can analogize the hidden language-like system of drawing within each drawer.
April 2021 - How Do I Know What I See Until I Hear What I Say? accepted for for publication in The International Journal of Art & Design Education. Publication date to be decided.
A primary strategy when producing accurate drawings from observation is learning to ask better questions about that which is being observed. A general question such as “where is it” becomes a more precise “where is it in relation to adjacent objects?” Noticing that one object is taller than another develops to become “in what proportion is it taller"? In essence, the questions become more acute, the responses more precise and the resulting description more complete.
Whether explicit or implicit, the descriptions being generated may as readily be expressed in words as can be made as marks on a page. Yet art educators of the 1980s, such as Betty Edwards (1979), became popular for arguing that drawing behaviour is better served when brain function associated with language—the ostensibly analytical left-brain mode—is disengaged. This notion has been widely disputed led primarily by findings in neuroimaging using fMRI and EEG. Furthermore, there is much evidence in cognitive psychology to suggest that, contrary to Edwards' opinion, there is no such thing as using one brain mode free of interference from the other. Scientists have had to grapple with the paradigm that, to some degree, “reality is perceived and structured by the language we speak” since Sapir and Whorf made this hypothesis (Hussein, 2012). Fielding (1994) has interpreted this for the current topic, asserting that whenever humans acquire language, it comes to occupy an anterior position as a planning and organizing tool in all activities, including drawing. In another vein, Toomela (2002) argues that drawing should not be regarded as a unitary ability, but rather a system of components including motor output, memory, perception, and verbal abilities.
Much has been studied and written about the ways in which drawing can influence writing, particularly in early childhood education (see Norris et al., 1997; Davidson, 2008; Liao et al., 2013). In each of these studies, researchers concluded that drawing before writing benefited writing performance, with Norris et al. suggesting (consistent with Toomela’s hypothesis) that this was “due to the integration of drawing and writing” as a mental activity. But, there appears to have been little attempt to observe whether language has a comparable influence on drawing, and none that we know of outside of studies in early childhood education. The current study proposes an experimental program similar to what Davidson calls the “drawing and writing series,” but in reverse: to use language (in our case verbal description) prior to drawing. Our focus upon university-level drawing students is based on the hypothesis that the interactions between language and drawing persist (and possibly become more sophisticated) as both skills are developed in the user.
This study aims to: (1) measure whether making a prior description in words affects a subsequent visual description when drawing from observation; and (2) investigate the extent to which a drawer’s pre-established drawing strategy may be identifiable when it is first vocalized, then observed in both the drawing process and the final drawing. We are terming "schema" that which observers bring to what is given by each momentary glance, which could be "a general image of what the drawing should look like when complete, or a set of learned strategies that are brought to bear on each new observational drawing task" (Reichertz, Maycock, & Klein, 2015). Cohn (2012; 2014) identifies the presence of schemas when he describes drawing as a system of representation and expression based on learned lexicons, akin to language, rather than simply a means of articulating direct “perception.” If this is true, then it is of great interest whether apparent verbal language can analogize the hidden language-like system of drawing within each drawer.
April 2021 - How Do I Know What I See Until I Hear What I Say? accepted for for publication in The International Journal of Art & Design Education. Publication date to be decided.
REFERENCES
Cohn, N. (2012). Explaining 'I can't draw': Parallels between the structure and development of language and drawing. Human Development, 55(4), 167-192.
Cohn, N. (2014). Framing "I can't draw": The influence of cultural frames on the development of drawing. Culture & Psychology, 20(1), 102-117.
Davidson, J. L. (2008). How drawing in conjunction with writing contributes to literacy. Educator's Voice, 1, 36-43.
Fielding, R. (1994). Human language and drawing development: Their productive interactions. Journal of Art and Design Education, 13(2), 145-151.
Hussein, B. A. (2012). The sapir-whorf hypothesis today. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 2(3), 642-646.
Lee, Y., & Chan, T. (2013). Building a self-generated drawing environment to improve children's performance in writing and storytelling. Research and Practice in Technology Enhanced Learning, 8(3), 449-464.
Norris, E. A., Reichard, C., & Mokhtari, K. (1997). The influence of drawing on third graders' writing performance. Reading Horizons, 38(1), 13-30.
Reichertz, M., Maycock, B., & Klein, R. (2015). Lighting: Its influence on drawing strategies. Visual Arts Research, 41(2), 70-81. (Forthcoming)
Toomela, A. (2002). Drawing as a verbally mediated activity: A study of relationships between verbal, motor, and visuospatial skills and drawing in children. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 26(3), 234-247.
Cohn, N. (2012). Explaining 'I can't draw': Parallels between the structure and development of language and drawing. Human Development, 55(4), 167-192.
Cohn, N. (2014). Framing "I can't draw": The influence of cultural frames on the development of drawing. Culture & Psychology, 20(1), 102-117.
Davidson, J. L. (2008). How drawing in conjunction with writing contributes to literacy. Educator's Voice, 1, 36-43.
Fielding, R. (1994). Human language and drawing development: Their productive interactions. Journal of Art and Design Education, 13(2), 145-151.
Hussein, B. A. (2012). The sapir-whorf hypothesis today. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 2(3), 642-646.
Lee, Y., & Chan, T. (2013). Building a self-generated drawing environment to improve children's performance in writing and storytelling. Research and Practice in Technology Enhanced Learning, 8(3), 449-464.
Norris, E. A., Reichard, C., & Mokhtari, K. (1997). The influence of drawing on third graders' writing performance. Reading Horizons, 38(1), 13-30.
Reichertz, M., Maycock, B., & Klein, R. (2015). Lighting: Its influence on drawing strategies. Visual Arts Research, 41(2), 70-81. (Forthcoming)
Toomela, A. (2002). Drawing as a verbally mediated activity: A study of relationships between verbal, motor, and visuospatial skills and drawing in children. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 26(3), 234-247.
