Drawing Marathon at the New York Studio School in NYC
Course Description
Prerequisite: None
Hosted by the New York Studio School of Drawing, Painting, and Sculpture and based entirely in New York, Drawing Marathon helps students learn the importance of drawing as the basis of understanding one's experience of the world. Drawing is seen here as the most direct route to the examination of our perceptions. Unorthodox tools and exercises will be introduced to broaden the students' drawing vocabulary.
This course will investigate many implications of drawing as a physical and cerebral activity as well as drawing as a philosophy. It will discuss key issues, including those of scale, tiny to huge; the use of different formats; the use of the rectangle; the vertical axis and its significance; the nature of distortions; the compression of space and depth; the search for “form” and its consequences; space and its meaning; functions and the different kinds of space; and the nature of relational drawing.
Students can expect to be in the studio 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. most days. The average day is spent mostly drawing from perspection and includes several group critiques; most nights accumulate in a lengthy final critique at the end of the physical drawing session. This practice intensifies for the last critique at the end of the course. Students learn to engage in clear and succinct dialogue and discussions within the group. Instruction encourages students to participate in and understand the visual language of drawing.
The Marathons are intensive all-day programs that run for two weeks at the beginning of each semester at the acclaimed NY Studio School. Students reside in New York City during the program period. Daily drawing sessions at the Studio School, field trips, and creative exploration of the city are all included in the program. Drawing marathon is led both by full-time NYSS faculty and distinguished visiting artists.
The Drawing Marathon is open to beginning and advanced artists, regardless of their major.
Instructor Bio
Graham Nickson - Painter; Dean of the New York Studio School- has been a faculty member and Dean of the School since 1988, and is the originator of the renowned Drawing Marathon. Received his BA from the Camberwell School of Arts & Crafts and MA from the Royal College of Art in London. Was based in Italy from 1972-74, and since 1976 has resided in New York. Nickson has worked, taught, traveled and exhibited extensively in the United States and internationally, and is the recipient of the Prix de Rome; The Harkness Fellowship at Yale University; the Guggenheim Fellowship, and the Ingram Merrill Fellowship. Recent solo exhibitions include Graham Nickson: Private Myths at the Naples Museum of Art, FL; Graham Nickson: Works from Private Collections at the Boca Raton Museum of Art, FL, and Meeting and Passing at the Lillehammer Art Museum in Norway. His work is in the permanent collections of many institutions including The Metropolitan Museum of Art; MoMA; The National Gallery of Art, Washington DC; Fogg Art Museum at Harvard University, MA; The Albright Knox Gallery, NY; the Neuberger Museum of Art, NY; the Frye Art Museum, WA; the Boca Raton Museum of Art, FL and the Lillehammer Art Museum.
Reed Anderson received a MFA from Stanford University in 2009 and previously studied at Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture and the San Francisco Art Institute. He is represented by Pierogi Gallery in NY, and Gregory Lind Gallery in San Francisco. Anderson's artwork has explored the potential of system and craft through cut paper works for over a decade. These deconstructed voids are employed as the tools to build and create new forms; a method of abstraction that mimics patterns and forms in nature. Anderson's artwork is included in the collections of MOMA, The Albright-Knox Gallery, The Olbricht Collection, The West Collection and The Burchfield Penney Art Center. Anderson's work has also been seen in publications that include: Cabinet, New York Times, The Village Voice, Graphic Magazine and Riot of Perfume.