Lost Drawing Forms In Architecture By Michel Graves

Architect and industrial designer Michael Graves, in an op-ed piece in the New York Times, laments the lost art of drawing in architectural practice. His thoughts have obvious parallels with the world of computer animation, though thankfully, drawing still plays a major role in many CG creations. Grave does not have a problem with computers as long as it is not just that. He talks about the creative possibilities that are opened up through the act of drawing, and uses as an example a drawing jam session he once had with a colleague.

Michel Graves stated that, the game was not about winners or losers, but about a shared language. They had a genuine love for making this drawing. There was an insistence, by the act of drawing, that the composition would stay open, that the speculation would stay wet in the sense of a painting. Their plan was without scale and they could as easily have been drawing a domestic building as a portion of a city. It was the act of drawing that allowed to speculate.

Michel Graves stated that, as they work with the computer-savvy students and staff today, they notice that something is lost when they draw only on the computer. It is analogous to hearing the words of a novel read aloud, when reading them on paper allows them to daydream a little, to make associations beyond the literal sentences on the page. Similarly, drawing by hand stimulates the imagination and allows them to speculate about ideas, a good sign that they are truly alive.