Saul’s line
Been thinking about the ‘line’ after reading Eisenstein’s reference to Saul Steinberg’s coat hanger drawing, in his writings about Disney animations and the nature of drawing. My drawing is far less amoebic in line and enclosure, far more sharp and stroked, searching for planes rather than composition or flat shaped volumes made through a flowing and joined line. Eisenstein’s sketchbook here made in 1914 (when he was 16), more to do with visual thinking than style.
Saul Steinberg, for his apparent simple drawing style, uses a rich and complex visual language in his drawings. Consider the collection of drawings in his publication, ‘The Labyrinth’, where he uses only black and white with occasional greys, then there is: Space and shapes; complex and simple; shadow and white; curved and straight; dynamic and still; mass and reflection; pattern and repetition; long narrative; short narrative; landscape; contrast of ideas; contrast of style/technique; contrast of shapes; volume by shade; volume by line; visual puzzles; language and typography; smudge and clean; balance and gravity; opposites; play; repetition; outlines; conflict; drama and peace, and that’s only to page 6.