Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

This accessible book explains the significance of relationships between the body and the mark, visual imitation, drawing and writing and visual storytelling, providing a simple guide to these key ideas. For millennia drawing has been conceived as an exploratory activity, mediating between the vision of the drafter and what they are drawing. Drawing reveals hidden relationships, directs attention, scrutinises the material world and provides plans for further action. The book unpacks the key ideas that have shaped the rich, complex and foundational activity of drawing. It presents an unexpected, engaging and authoritative range of illustrated examples of drawings made by culturally and historically diverse people for different purposes, with different media, in widely different times and situations. Educator, author and artist Simon Grennan builds together concepts to create a complete guide to ideas about drawing.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• List of illustrations (p. ix)
• Introduction: What is drawing? (p. 1)
• 1 Imitation (p. 11)
• The threshold of visualization and the problem of media (p. 14)
• Depiction and visualization (p. 18)
• Imitating vision and imitating drawing (p. 24)
• Digital imitation (p. 32)
• Analogue imitation (p. 33)
• Imitating experience (p. 36)
• 2 Mark (p. 39)
• Tone (p. 43)
• Line (p. 47)
• Planning (p. 54)
• Mapping (p. 56)
• Drawing systems representing three dimensions (p. 66)
• Typification (p. 67)
• Writing (p. 70)
• Mark making across media (p. 73)
• Introducing the body (p. 74)
• 3 Trace (p. 81)
• The surface (p. 83)
• The surface of the drawing as the skin of a body (p. 85)
• The surface as a visualization of an idea (p. 86)
• The limits of the drawing (p. 86)
• The significance of drawing media (p. 88)
• Trace, media and body (p. 90)
• Trace and style (p. 93)
• Trace as evidence (p. 95)
• Movement, mind and absence (p. 96)
• Choreographing traces (p. 98)
• Trace and depiction (p. 101)
• 4 Story (p. 105)
• Story and point of view (p. 108)
• The story of the drawing (p. 109)
• Story and style (p. 110)
• Drawing style and character (p. 115)
• 5 Drawing today (p. 119)
• Feeling (p. 124)
• Technology old and new (p. 132)
• Systematic drawings (p. 133)
• Identity and power (p. 134)
• Textiles and the line (p. 136)
• Conjecture and hypothesis (p. 137)
• Collaborative drawing (p. 137)
• Performing drawing (p. 139)
• Moving drawings (p. 139)
• Contemporary drawing and public cultural institutions (p. 140)
• Selective glossary (p. 143)
• Bibliography (p. 147)
• Further reading (p. 152)
• Index (p. 154)

Author notes provided by Syndetics