The Drawing Book

by Tania Kovats, Editor
Black Dog Publishing, London, England
320 pp., Trade £24.95
ISBN: 1-904772-81-1.

Reviewed by George Shortess
Bethlehem, PA 18020, USA

george.shortess@lehigh.edu

This is a wonderful book. To paraphrase the subtitle, the book is a survey of drawing as the primary means of expression. It presents many drawings by well known and not so well known artists that shows the various ways in which drawing provides the basis for thinking and expressing ideas, both tentative and final. There are also examples by others such as Charles Darwin and Thomas Edison. However, the majority of examples are from artists working after 1950.

The book is divided into four main sections. The first is a brief introduction by the editor, which elaborates on the purpose and scope of the book, with a good discussion of the nature of drawing. The second section, in six short chapters, examines the ways individual artists employ drawing in their work, both in traditional media, such as painting and sculpture, as well as in conceptual art, mixed media and other eclectic styles. While there are generally very good written summaries of the ways individual artists (four artists per chapter) have used drawing as a way of understanding some aspect of the creative process, there is only one illustration per chapter. It would be extremely helpful to have illustrations of the other artists next to the written summaries. References are provided for those who wish to follow up on some of the written commentary.

The third section is the heart of the book and the most exciting. It covers over 250 pages of illustrations of drawings with brief commentary, much of it by the artists. The drawings are grouped into five chapters: measurement, nature, city, dreams and body. This is a visual feast and is what makes the book so valuable.

The fourth section includes acknowledgements, a very helpful selected bibliography, credits for reproduction and an index.

It is a very visual book even though there is some text. However, it is not a treatise on drawing but rather a presentation of the process in a very stimulating and direct fashion.

It is a book designed to help the viewer understand the processes and products of drawing by seeing and studying drawings. The emphasis is on drawing as a way of thinking. Therefore, it could be a very helpful book for anyone who wants to learn more about how drawing might be used to think through and solve problems. Teachers should find it a wonderful resource as well as a potential text.

It is a valuable addition to the body of scholarship on visual culture and highly recommended.