Claude Heath is an artist who works and lives in London. He studied philosophy and has rapidly gained recognition for his work. Heath uses unconventional strategies to make work such as blindfolded drawings made by touching the object instead of looking at it, and drawing on surfaces hidden from view. He tries to close the gap between sensation and image in a visual form. His experimental drawings are often starting points for his larger scale work, such as his paintings and wall drawings.
The piece of work I have chosen of his is titled ‘Buddha’ which he created in 1995. He used a variety of coloured biro pens on paper. The piece is quite small at 17.5x50cm. The work is four drawings of the same subject, a Buddha head, which he drew blindfolded. Before drawing the object Heath did not see the object so did not know what it was before drawing it. He wore a mask over his eyes and made marks with the pens with one hand and felt the object with the other, only drawing the images from his sense of touch.
I find this technique a very interesting and unique way to make work, creating a study of something without seeing it. I like the marks he has made, it seems as though he was trying to draw what he felt rather than guess what the object is. I also like how he has drew the Buddha four times rather than just the once. Each of the drawings has similar qualities yet they all have different marks creating four very individual drawings. I also like the use of multi-coloured biro pens; it gives the image more depth and intrigue rather than being one flat colour.
The composition of this piece is very appealing as Heath could not see where he was drawing but managed to keep the four drawings separate and in line, you can see they’re in line by the dot on the centre of the Buddha head. Each drawing is of the same object, but has turned out different due to the marks made. As he used biro pens to create the drawings the colours were limited, here the colours used work well together. The green and red offer a complementary contrast while the black shows some of the marks and features more clearly. The marks he makes overlap making some areas darker and stand out more, such as the facial features of the Buddha.
Heaths techniques and work created from them are very influential, especially his blindfolded work. His work has influenced my own by his mark making which is loose and look very energetic. The drawings created are not accurate and are more of an impression of an object than a detailed study. I like how he uses the same technique to create drawings of the same object yet has a variety of outcomes.
Fiona Jane 