Drawing the human body as metaphor

[Zeke]

That's my latest Life Drawing assignment. The point is to make 5 sketches of the body as a Temple, as a Landscape, as a Machine, as a Passage, and as being Finite. I've got ideas for the Machine and Temple, and something of one for Landscape and Passage. But...the body as being finite? I'm drawing blanks on that one. Anyone think they've got an idea of how I could draw that?

[Sanis Prent]

Think mime. Or fetus.

[Morgan La Fonte]

do an m.c. escher type of drawing for finite; i would

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Death, draw a dead body. Or something else that ends...like the human body as a bomb with a countdown timer!

[Zeke]

M.C. Escher? I know that guy's work, but how would I do that with the human figure? It boggles the mind. BTW, that avatar is scary as hell.

[Sanis Prent]

Escher is far too complicated to reproduce or imitate.

[Morgan La Fonte]

it's a challenge, that's why i'd do it. and as far as how, maybe like a poloroid with a human torso repeated over and over again until it's too small to see

and thanks ^_^ Fairuza Balk is rather scary, isn't she

[Dae Jinn]

somebody watched "The Craft" on tv :lol j/k

That polaroid idea sounds pretty neat though.

[Jesse Custer]

From my dictionary:

Fi-nite - Having definable limits; not infinite

So, I'd say draw an old man. :) Or LD's idea of a dead body. But personally, I'd find it hard to draw a dead body and convey it is indeed dead(unless you have it decomposed or bloody). So I say and old man/woman. :)

[Zeke]

I can always simply run said body through with a sword or something.

[Silus Xilarian]

Actually, I think the the polaroid repeated smaller and smaller, into seemingly nothingness might convey a sense of infinity......IE the body infinitely getting smaller and smaller, with no visible end.

Or course im borderline delirious right now, so feel free to overlook me :)

[Zeke]

You're making sense, even if you are delirious. The problem with this is that it'd make a helluva lot more sense to draw the body as being infinite than as finite. I mean, it's ALREADY finite. How do I draw something finite as a finite metaphor? Stupid Life Drawing teacher. >_<

[Dasquian Belargic]

Originally posted by Sanis Prent
Escher is far too complicated to reproduce or imitate.

Agreed. I'm doing studies on him at the minute and it's just not worth the effort :|

[Seteth Morters]

maybe draw someone dead/asleep... like peaceful dead....... surrounded by flowers.

flowers are supposed to symbolise how ephemeral things are, aren't they? so how about some of the flowers just flowering, some of them closing/rotting, some of them growing... it depends on your style and how much time you get, but it could work....?

[Zeke]

As it turns out, he didn't have much to offer in the way of finite-ness. I have to refine my "Body as Machine" and "Body as Temple" drawings now. Thanks for the help you guys.

[Tirsa Krylana]

Originally posted by Zeke
BTW, that avatar is scary as hell.

I like it!!! I like it alot!!! :D

[Lion El' Jonson]

Originally posted by Sanis Prent
Escher is far too complicated to reproduce or imitate.

For some reason, I studied him in Geometry last year...O_o

[Arya Ravenwing]

I think everyone studies him in Geometry. I did too. :p

[Sanis Prent]

Everyone does.

[Droo]

I didn't, I wish we had studied Dalí though.

[Sanis Prent]

Why would you study Dali in Geometry?

[Ryla Relvinian]

Well, for finite you could draw a hand reaching something... and object just out of reach. The mind is infinite, but the physical capabilities are limited.

or... something.

This is why I am not an art major. :D

[Sanis Prent]

I still think the mime and his "invisible box" is the best idea.

[imported_Eve]

I never got why they ASSIGNED you things to do in art. Everyone has their niche and inspiration. You can't force art.

[Zeke]

It's more like: "Here's a set of constraints. Do what you will within them" rather than an assignment. At anyrate, I got the thing done and handed in. He says to touch up my Temple and Machine drawings. Thanks for your help everyone.

[Pierce Tondry]

Eve: I'd say Zeke's got the gist of it, but I'd also add that they do it to give you things to think about, make you try new methods, and broaden your mind. Creative writing courses have similar methods.

The only bit about an art class that isn't consistent with what real artists due is the due dates. You can't force art's completion any more than you can force the artistic concept.

Zeke: What did you come up with?

[Tzu-Jan]

Eh...I tried the Escher, but it didn't work,so I tried doing the mime, but it was too normal-figure-ish no matter how I drew it, so I wound up handing in a blank page with erased ghosts of all the posted ideas I tried. ^_^;

[Droo]

I didn't mean studying Dalí in geometry. I meant studying Dalí for art.

[Sanis Prent]

I studied Dali in art plenty of times. What were you doing in art, barbarian?

[Lion El' Jonson]

Oh, that's real nice Sanis...

I'm the barbarian around here, not Dru! :lol

[Droo]

Our art course was very restrictive, we studied work by the Impressionists, Victorian architecture and Vanitas to name but a few of the items we focused on. It was a much more traditional art course forcusing on still life drawing and painting, there was no sculpture options and the like so rather than being a jack of all trades we concentrated on a limited amount of medium and we excelled at it which is why my secondary school is one of the best in art and design in the country. We tend to have 90% A's, usually a little higher. :D

[Sanis Prent]

Yet no Dali, hahahaha

[Droo]

Swine! :grumble

Well, I've been to a Dalí exhibition and have the "Metamorphosis of Narcisus" on my bedroom wall! Mwuah ha!