On becoming available— Andrea Ebert
Abstract
Being at ease in order to make oneself available requires practice, so that the availability that is sought can emerge. I hereby outline two different practices which took place between 2013 and 2018, as well as an invitation to an exercise.
The artistic practices were developed both at school and non-school environments and sought, fundamentally, to develop the experience of drawing and of seeking authentic forms of visual expression. The practices were carried out with different age groups, pre-teens and adults. What I propose is a new type of artistic action which dovetails with education. They are practices which evidence the process of being available, accept and make invitations.
Presentation Proposal
Invitation
In 2013 I paid a visit to my daughter’s school, in Lisbon, and introduced myself to the visual arts teacher. I told her I was an illustrator and made myself available for any help that was needed. She then told me that some students were scared of drawing and suggested I came to have a chat with them one day and tell them about my work. I hereby suggest the same exercise which I did with students that year: I asked them to write their full name on a sheet of paper in seven seconds. Next, I asked them to write their names in eight seconds, with their eyes closed. Afterwards, I asked: ‘was it easy?’, ‘why?’, ‘for how long have you been writing your name and how many times a day?’, ‘is writing a type of drawing?’.
If one thinks of the importance of practicing, one can assign value to development, to the gaze, to critical thinking and the importance of doing.
In 2014, I was invited back to the school to create a drawing club at the library, as a volunteer. Once a week, I would develop practices with pre-teen students. As we lacked funds to acquire materials, we used ball pens, paper and a spool of wool to create games, videos and drawings. Each student was required to sign a commitment contract, see a part below:
- I will not abuse my peers, my drawings or my library; I will treat everyone and everything with care;
- I will not compare my drawing to anyone else’s;
- I will focus on my own drawing;
We spent three years doing drawings, with the aim of ‘unlearning’ what is beautiful, prioritizing the practice, the critical gaze and developing our own way of drawing. At the end of that period, I asked participants: ‘what is drawing?’ See the answers below:
It is to think.
It is our feelings, which we pass on to paper.
A drawing is like an emotion: happy, sad, angry. It is an illusion.
It is someone’s imagination screaming.
Drawing is love and care.
It is fun.
It is the expression of freedom.
Access
On creating availability, finding or creating new opportunities for access.
As a card carrying member of MAAT, I carried out, independently, a piece of research about the institution’s workings from my perspective as an artist and audience. After a whole month of visits, having familiarized myself fully with the space, I created a workshop at my studio and invited participants to visit MAAT. I gave them pointers as to how they, as audience, could explore the space. During the course of the visit, I invited participants to think about and analyse what belonged to them. We reflected on what it was like to look at a work of art and feel that it belonged to you. And how a place can belong to you even when it is not your property. At the end the participants produced engravings using recycled packaging and an artist’s book.