THE DRAWING AS A SYMBOLIC LANGUAGE

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In a previous writing I commented on the concept of symbolism (WALKING AND ITS SYMBOLISM), and also on a suitable model – a bit difficult – to know and familiar with the images that are generated in the unconscious, itself that I have titled thresholdism (DRAWING AND THRESHOLDISM, TO KNOW OUR INNER SELF) and finally I have expressed why we should devote some of our time to drawing (WHY AND WHAT TO DRAW FOR?). Now, I would like to suggest some ways and actions so that a person can GENERATE AND EXTRACT, in the best way, the images that he contains in his mind and can draw them. I could not call them techniques, because they are only oral, mental and physical mechanisms. Namely:

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1. Repeat a word -or phrase- as for example “draw”, as many times as necessary, until we can block the words, reach the mental limit where nothing verbal is contained. This is nothing more than using the known “AUM” technique, repeating this sound so many times until verbal thoughts are completely eliminated.

2. We well know that striving to attract something to our mind, it rejects or hides it. If the previous form (paragraph 1) does not work properly for us, then we can use what Viktor Frankl called “paradoxical intention”. For example, to repeat ourselves: “I don’t want to draw” and we probably will succeed, that is, we can attract graphic images, dissociated from the verbal.

After a few minutes (15-30 or less), the resulting symbolic visual ideas can be expressed a) orally, b) through drawings or c) in written form. All of them should be drawn according to what has been visualized: Project on a paper the symbols that have appeared in your mind.

Very early on, when the human being began to speak, to emit his first words, he only had in his mind symbolic images; therefore, perhaps drawing was our first structured artistic language, a kind of symbolic language.

One way to draw while walking is, using the right lobe of the brain because it is the creative one, transcribing the images caused by walking reading and/or writing to a drawing block -Sketch pad- Any image that comes to mind, however simple, ridiculous or grotesque it may seem, we must draw it on paper.

The symbols that each person uses to represent their ideas or any thought, is unrepeatable; it is different in each individual, although they may contain similar features in their symbolic graphic manifestations.

In general, these images are far from the aesthetic and in the beginning are unintelligible, however, they always contain encrypted information that makes it easier, many times, to better understand what the human being encloses and represses in his interiority.

These symbolic ideas that are generated in our unconscious and that emerge to our consciousness, as images, apparently incomprehensible, difficult to express orally, complex to explain, allows us to obtain different descriptions: representations of our way of feeling , regarding ourselves and the outside environment.

In the case of our comprehensive walking system, each walk can be started with an objective in mind, from which we want to obtain some related images; and, if we also have a book or document that talks about that topic from which we wish to obtain some images, let’s take it with us. The actions we can perform are:

1. First of all, use some element to encourage the creation of images, for example, reading an attractive book (essay, poetry, novel, etc.), which is related to the subject from which we want to extract images from our unconscious.

2. Keep in mind the theme or issue to be represented by graphic, visual, non-oral images. We can always facilitate the process by dividing into subtopics, both in written and graphic images.

3. Define some topics or words that are related to the fundamental theme.

4. Try to rationally define, at the beginning of the walk, some visual-graphic symbol of the schematic abstract type, trying not to use any words.

5. Allow the mind to generate those images for each of the topics or the fundamental theme, as the walk is made, either reading and/or writing.

6. The images created in the mind, whether voluntarily or not, are pristine representations of each individual, which are created according to their essence and form (psychological structure).

7. Respect the essence of what the symbolism drawn from the mind represents, since it is primary and fundamental information of the interiority of each being.

8. The images that are thus transcribed to the paper must maintain their simplicity or complexity, as well as their colors.

9. It is also recommended that the images be transcribed to the paper at the precise moment they are generated in the mind, during the walks either reading, writing and drawing.

We must keep in mind that these images can be forged during reading or writing. I believe that the most effective, immediate, comfortable and economical way to feed the imagination is by reading and writing. As I recommend in reading and writing, through an analogy (Manual for walking reading, writing and drawing, pp. 45-54), I advise In the case of drawing. What type of reading is acceptable for this? You yourself will discover and know what type of reading that encourages your drawing creation, following the recommendations and indications above.

A good warm-up practice to directly invite our unconscious to generate images so that we can release the hand better by drawing, is to make quick sketches of what we observe, while walking; with a frequency of 3 or 4 of them in a span of 10-20 minutes.

This process is reversible, back and forth. In my experience it has happened to me that writing feeds my paintings and at the same time, after months or years, that painting inspires me a poem or some story; in fact, some of my sketches that I have developed during my walks I have used in some novels, specifically, there are several that I am using at this time in the realization of my novel Dialogues in a place of La Mancha.

Despite this, the important thing is to point out the force that exists in the reading that drives the unconscious to recover part of what has repressed the conscience and that it exposes as graphic images.

Finally, let’s remember and keep in mind that this process is an engine to revive sensitive images (which are introjected through the senses) produced by previous perceptions, by reproductive imagination and inspiration, and that within us (unrepeatable and personal) they generate combinations of all these images captured to give rise to new image units, and which are extracted outwards by our creative force. It is therefore also important to use the system Dintornism (*) for the interpretation of symbols in plastic creation (to understand and interpret the images that are generated in the unconscious), as well as referring to the thresholding (See writings: DRAWING, TO KNOW BETTER OURSELVES and DRAWING AND THRESHOLDISM, TO KNOW OUR INNER SELF) to know our inner self, it is a heterodox way of knowing our particular fantasy and our ability to build graphic images (also mental) based on real and imaginary impulses.

Let’s walk and draw while we walk.

(*) LoyaLopátegui, Carlos, Dintornism. A plastic-philosophical theory of reality, Emulisa, Mexico, 2012. Available on Amazon, Kindle Edition: https://www.amazon.es/dp/B0D6C18SS9

(*)LoyaLopátegui, Carlos, The Dintornism in the Plastic of the Ancient Mayas. Emulisa, Mexico, 2015.

LoyaLopategui, Carlos, Dialogues in a place of La Mancha, EMULISA, México, 2019: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CJ3BW1T1.

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