Do you know who I am?
The title for this post is written in good humour (more an opportunity to quote Eddie Izzard quoting Darth Vadar than anything else). Today I visited the National Gallery of Victoria and while taking notes on the first available chair I was stopped by a staff member. Pens and pencils, it became clear, are not allowed in some exhibitions. I put a way my pen and book and asked how else I might take my notes. With my smart phone was the suggestion (the staff member had not seen my phone so they must have assumed I had one). I intimated that this would not work, and they resumed their work and I resumed my exhibition viewing.
There are a number of reasons why I take my notes on paper in a book. One is that it’s very easy to refer to when I get home - just plonk it next to the screen and away I go. It doesn’t fade to black like a screen does to save power. Another reason is that I find it easy to add to - quickly. Little extra details to be slotted in when ever. My thought process is recorded in a form that runs well with my thoughts. I write big too.
This idea might sound crazy - how do I know what form my thoughts take? Well clearly some writers prefer certain mediums over others. My brother always types, I always write. I do text, email and blog obviously but I also study and still find the best way to commit names, dates and titles to memory is by pen on paper.
David Malouf wrote earlier this year in his Quarterly Essay ‘The Happy Life’ that he writes all of his books and essays on paper. “Like a good many writers in the twenty-first century, I find that the pace at which I work in longhand - at which my arm, my hand moves in the act of writing - has what is for me a ‘natural’ relationship to the speed at which my mind works and I do not want to let go of a relationship that seems to be peculiarly mine.”
I couldn’t agree more with this statement - and everyone has their own way of doing things which have a specific meaning.
As for the policies at the National Gallery of Victoria - I will be sure to ask as I go into an exhibition next time. The Policies page of the website states that pencils are preferred over pens and that some exhibitions do not allow either. I am also aware that sketching takes up space, and note taking can cause congestion. But surely if the seats are for sitting on then taking notes on your lap won’t take up any more more room than not taking notes while sitting. It’s a tricky situation to describe, not being able to write about art - the act of which is directly related to my love of art. So, obviously it’s not in my interest to damage the artworks.
Hopefully the time honoured and very important practice of sketching artworks can continue. I’m positive that writing and sketching in front of the artwork itself is of huge benefit to the review and the drawing.
