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Morgan O'Hara
LIVE TRANSMISSION: performative drawing
My work is culturally contextualized in the practice of drawing as a fundamental human endeavor and is continuous with the time-honored practice of drawing from life. It requires connection, direct observation and LIVE TRANSMISSION. I draw from and build on the historical continuum of the field. Through this work, I transcend the arbitrary "oppositions" between abstract and figurative art, between purely gestural expression and documentary intent, creating narrative work which results in a final product which is not figurative. The drawings themselves become a third actor or mediator in the experience. That which was beneath notice becomes concretized on the page as the paper receives the image.
MODUS OPERANDI: The method I have perfected requires close observation and actual drawing in real time with multiple razor-sharp pencils and both hands. I condense movement into accumulations of graphite line, combining the controlled refinement of classical drawing with the sensuality of spontaneous gesture. My LIVE TRANSMISSIONS render visible normally invisible or fleeting movement patterns, through seismograph-like drawing. The theoretical base for the work is visual transmission of the principle of vitality. FORM AND CONTENT, a series of ink drawings, site-specific wall drawings and three dimensional works are based on the LIVE TRANSMISSIONS. The site-specific wall drawings range in size from 20-40 linear feet. The three dimensional works are laser-cut from wood and measure from 2-15 feet in any direction.
