Paper short abstract:

This paper looks at the act of drawing as the abundant ability to pause, reflect and engage reflexively with the world afforded to human beings. The deep relation of the active work of art to the body-mind complex, as presented in Indian thought traditions, will be discussed.

Paper long abstract:

Drawing is directly related to the phenomenon of breathing, in how it navigates the deep structures of the body-mind complex with fluid ease. For this reason, excavating the micro-processes that participate in, and enable drawing to take place, also allows excavating the microstructures of the self.

This fascinating ability to navigate infinities of material and mind seems extra-ordinary to thought, yet it is the most constant way in which we are ordinary. For most practitioners of drawing, therefore, the approach to everyday life is a continuous and dialogic process, whether spread over years of practice or even across multiple strokes in one drawing or just one breath drawn with some awareness.

Multiple states of existence participate in this non-static work of art. The tangible drawing itself becomes a living map of this dynamic work.

Indian aesthetic thought, rooted in Kashmir Shaiva philosophy provides one such ontological framework, to follow these journeys of creative action through various subtleties of the mental and material realms. This paper hopes to discuss these complex structures that enable the composure in the act of drawing.