Revisiting the ‘Extended Drawings’ series

The ‘Extended Drawings’, by intention, inquire the extension of the architectural drawing.* They started with an architectural drawing and that drawing has been transforming through an indeterminate process of drawing; tracing; transferring; layering; manipulating; printing; reproducing; recording; framing; and, finally drawing again. The ‘Extended Drawings’ invent new layers of drawings from already reinvented layers with the aim of finding new formal or spatial constellations. While the processes conform to a set of drawing and printing protocols they avoid accuracy. Errors, coincidences, are are part of the process as they call for instant reactions which change the direction of an emerging image. In the ‘Extended Drawing’ series I explore a conceptual link between the practice of improvisation and design-based drawing processes. Following philosopher Gary Peters (2009) improvisation revolves around ‘a process of indeterminately searching for something new’. Key to Peters’ conceptual understanding of improvisation is that the process does not depart from a clear anticipation - or preconceived result but aim to keep the discovering going. Entering in such indeterminate kind of processes has a series of consequences for the activities as it compels the practitioner to continuously question and transgress one’s boundaries and established expertise to look for something of importance which can be used as a new point of departure. In the ‘Extended Drawings’ series, method (extension) and product (drawing/print/expression) coincide: the product is what the method is tested upon and by using the method one finds the possibility of a new product. Extending is concerned with the different steps that play on each and every action, and the degrees to which they can be recombined and transformed during performance. The method is put forward as a way of progressing in transformative fields of inquiry – as a way to add value to a process, activity or practice – personally or collectively. The explorative processes which resulted in the ‘Extended Drawing’ series yielded a large amount of unique prints and artefacts (all in all some 350), produced at speed in a more or less performative activity. All the drawings depart from an authentic source and use an iterative process of drawing/ tracing/transfer - serigraphy - recording which are used as a base for a new series. While reflection and evaluation was an inherent part of all these processes the more or less open aim of the series - as well as their protocols - make that several emanations or combinations of the process can be of importance for the research. The contribution focusses on method, process, product, evaluation and indeterminacy in exploring and transgressing architectural drawing by selecting a distinct series while simultaneously exploring the possibilities of a new ‘source’ based on the qualities and re-iterations of the work on display.The abstract and presentation were coupled with an exhibition in the Zentrum Arkitekturwissenschaft in Berlin where I showed a selection of original artworks guiding the presentation.status: publishe