Drawing Without Seeing

The museum curated a special temporary exhibition, lasting for the month of October, as part of its Big Draw celebrations. On October 10th, museum staff organised innovative activities based on two of the exhibited woodcuts. Inspired by the fact Albrecht Dürer drew his rendition of The Rhinoceros without having seen the animal live; visitors were invited to engage in a similar task. Standing back to back in pairs, one person looked at the woodcut and explained it verbally to the other. The second person then attempted to sketch it, based on their partner's description.

In another activity, an adaptation of the game 'Whispers Whispers', a member of the public was given the woodcut Yellow Composition by Hans Arp to look at. He or she then had to explain it to their neighbour and the description was whispered from person to person around a group. When it reached the last person, they had the task of drawing it. 

Families were also given the opportunity to participate in a large collaborative drawing. In pairs, visitors were asked to cut and assemble long strips of coloured paper. One member of the pair was then blindfolded and given the end of a paper strip. The other person created 'music to move by', using a percussion instrument. As the blindfolded participants moved around the space leaving paper trails behind them they created a vast and elaborate drawing.

In planning their Big Draw, the museum tried to include activities to appeal to different age groups and interests. Most visitors stayed for about two hours and both children and adults participated. Litza Juhasz comments, "We hoped that by engaging in the different activities people would realise that they need not only draw by themselves or only with pencil and paper."