Making a Mark

William Anastasi, Subway Drawing, 1993, Pencil on Paper

What do you see when you look at this image?

How do you think these marks may have been made?

These were the two opening questions that myself and my partner posed to the class when we introduced our theme of mark making. It was exciting discussing these questions with our classmates, having them take their best guess at what was behind the making of this piece. The artist who created this, William Anastasi, places himself on the subway, headphones in, paper on his lap, pencil in each hand. He allows the movement of the subway to guide the marks that are made on the paper. All he does is steady himself and allows chance to create the image you see above.

We presented Anastasi along with a piece by Marcel Duchamp, "Three Standard Stoppages," and Ushio Shinohara, "Boxing Painting," in discussion of mark making through chance. All of these artist develop a certain formula with their works that we discussed in order to provide for a chance experience in making their mark.

The question was posed at the end of our presentation: is "mark making" a process or a theme?

I believe it depends on how you look at it. For me, and for the way I will be developing it as a lesson and then a larger unit, it is a theme. As one explores mark making through various methods, including chance and motion, it becomes more dynamic than just a drawing process. Mark making becomes a way in which artists on making impressions. The artists that we are exploring develop ways in which they are using mark abstractly to explore further concepts and to make their impression on those who come into contact with their work and with their process. Developing mark making as "making a mark" will allow for students to understand ways in which they can develop unique processes in order to make their own impressions.