"The Sea Gull"
Pencil as the Ultimate Object
(The Centrality of Drawing to all Visual Art)
The Sea Gull (Pencil as the Ultimate Object)
© Ron Sanders 1989 Acrylic and Colored PencilThe illustration shown above was a college project in which we were to make universal some small object. I had the good fortune of having selected a pencil.
The work is influenced by the short story by Anton Chekhov entitled, "The Sea Gull." In Act IV the actress Nina makes the following statement to her childhood friend, the playwright named Kostya.
"...Now I know, I understand, Kostya, that in our work...what matters is not fame, not glory, not what I used to dream about, it's how to endure, to bear my cross, and have faith. I have faith and it all doesn't hurt so much, and when I think of my calling I'm not afraid of life."
In the illustration we follow a story through the scene. Workers move a mural down the sidewalk depicting God's creation of Eve from Adam's rib while he sleeps. But walking from behind the mural is a tall model of a woman eating a green apple, symbol of mankind's fall from grace and removal from Eden. At her feet is a dead sea gull, shot by Kostya in Chekhov's play before his suicide.
The sun's rays are reflected in the windows, top center, depicting God's glory in heaven. My contention is that all art is an attempt to make sense of our fallen world and to return to Eden, and that drawing is the beginning of all visual art. Assembled at the right are representatives from the art world, each of whom used drawing at the start of their creative process. The lineup begins with Alberti, founder of linear perspective, which allowed for the depiction of three dimensional space on a two dimensional surface. By his side is Brunilleschi, the first to make drawn plans for architecture. Third is Leonardo depicting the science of man, followed by Botticelli and the beauty of woman. He holds his famous "Birth of Venus," where Venus is in the same pose as Eve on the mural and the model eating the apple on the sidewalk. Beside Botticelli is Michelangelo, who created sketches of his sculptural designs before beginning to chisel stone. The group is concluded by Rembrandt, master of etching, and Ingre, the great draftsman.
To the center of the image is a commercial illustrator, bearing the cross of his talents as his agent flings a contract into his face. The book publisher behind him holds Chekhov's plays and demands to know when the book cover design will be completed, while the rock band wants changes to their album cover design. The press is having a field day, and the reporter is most assuredly misquoting the art critic.
Rather than Roman Centurions casting lots for Jesus' clothes, a group of boys throw dice in a game for pencils - the great commodity of the art world.
But in the lower left the shadow of a nearby church depicts the only true means of returning to Paradise. All our creativity cannot match God's. As Plato said, we only think God's thoughts after Him. And our creative endeavors cannot create heaven on earth, but they can be used to direct us to the path of salvation found in Jesus Christ through the cross He bore.
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