Fancy Footwork
There are aesthetic purists who will scoff at the idea that any type of human made movement can be considered drawing. Especially if said movement doesn’t leave a physical trace. However, I’m steadfast in my belief that a drawing is the most adaptable of all traditional art media. This is in part due to its expansive definitions, which have developed and evolved throughout the course of art history.
Physical movement that sometimes, but does not always involve permanent marks on paper, such as dance (see: Harvey, 2016) and walking (see: Barker, 2015) has been categorized within the realm of drawing. The common denominator is that these gestural forms are expressive and done with intent. Those are two key factors that persuade me to define something as being “art.”
Back when I was teaching art, I was leaving the classroom one day and noticed a single piece of paper on the ground (it’s a very good day when the only remnants of materials is one or two pieces of paper!). It must have been there for the entire day. Multiple classes of young artists had stepped on it while moving around the room. The result was a beautiful composition of shoe prints, which I hung up on display. I titled it Learning in Flux.
More than just an array of footprints, this drawing signifies the electrifying and insightful atmosphere of making art in school. The art studio and the gymnasium are great settings to exercise the mind-body connection, which is why physical education and art education should always be considered core subjects. On a typical day of studio art, students would constantly be moving around, not to cause a ruckus, but to get materials and visit with their classmates to share and discuss each other’s work. This epitomizes the type of expressive and purposeful endeavor that I’d define as being “artful.”
During the course of my workouts, I’ve been absorbed by the sweat marks that are left on the exercise mat. But since the mat is black, it’s hard to capture the forms of the perspiration with a photograph. I’ve just begun to explore an aesthetic process with my fitness training, where I dust myself with flour and perform sets of bodyweight exercises. This creates a composition of physical marks on my exercise mat that highlight the physicality of my workout. It’s a process that’s inspired by modern artist Yves Klein’s painterly process, which he called “anthropometry,” using human bodies covered in paint as raw material. In this instance, I transform my body in the gestural act of exercise into a "living brush," to create marks on a surface.
In the digital age, humans have found ways to showcase their fancy footwork and other forms of fitness locomotion through online fitness apps like Strava.
While my running routes are completely abstract/non-representational (although, I can kind of see the shape of kangaroo emerging from my eight mile running route), there are folks in the fitness community who take it to the next level and get really representative and expressive with their line work/footwork. Below are some of my favorite examples, from a Facebook group called “Strava Art.” These depictions of fitness tracking art are made via biking, running and walking.
Biking, running and walking are my ideal means of traveling. They’re not only some of the healthiest ways to get around, but they enable me to see aspects of the environment that I’d easily miss if I were driving in a car or riding on the subway (see: “The Art of Walking”).
It’s really no surprise to see so many people artfully documenting their running/walking/cycling routes. The endorphin boost I get from physical activity spurs a whole slew of creative thoughts and impulses. After a run or strength training session, my mind typically races with ideas for projects. I’m just now scratching the surface of many of the concepts that have popped into my head!
Fitness has gotten me back into making art (see: “Fragments, Ruins and Ruminations”). And although I’d now consider myself a better athlete than an artist, both elements are a large part of my identity. Utilizing artistic methods within my fitness routine has had a clear impact on how I employ my mind and body to achieve a profound sense of personal transformation.
References, Notes, Suggested Reading:
Barker, Gary. “Walking and Drawing,” Drawing, 25 January 2015. https://fineartdrawinglca.blogspot.com/2015/01/walking-and-drawing.html
Harvey, Auriea. “Dancing and Drawing,” foam, 4 January 2016. https://fo.am/blog/2016/01/04/dancing-and-drawing/
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Hmmm. A couple of those over-achievers make my abstract Strava art look a little lacking lol