Kelsey Herber, School Programs Associate
This week in the FWMoA studio we are turning our focus to the wartime artworks created by the soldiers who served in the Ghost Army during World War II. These are currently on display alongside other unique artifacts in Ghost Army: The Combat Con Artists of World War II, which is available to visit until October 26.
Many of the soldiers in the Ghost Army were specifically recruited from art schools and other creative spaces due to the Ghost Army’s focus on devising imaginative deceptions that would assist in the fight to liberate Europe from Nazi control. Several sketchbooks and finished artworks remain from those soldiers that offer a glimpse into how they spent their downtime and how their individual skills fulfilled the needs of the unit. One such artist-turned-soldier was Jack Masey, a corporal in the 603rd Engineer Camouflage Battalion. Masey possessed a talent for drawing, and we can view the entertaining caricatures he drew of the men in his company. While each caricature aptly represents a unique soldier with their own attitude, his style and attempt to utilize as few individual lines as possible shines through.
Masey’s caricatures are the basis of inspiration for this round of Saturday Studio creating. His minimal yet intricate linework reminds us of continuous line and blind contour drawing. With a continuous line drawing, the name tells all: one must not lift their drawing utensil even once from their surface. This method requires the artist to think about the “route” their utensil should take so as to avoid a scribbly outcome. Blind contour prevents the artist from looking at their drawing surface. These two methods combined create a silly outcome that can help an artist to think through their process and loosen up on their self-expectations. To add even further to the challenge, this drawing method is often practiced as a timed activity. The element of time would have also been imperative for the soldiers of the Ghost Army as their rare downtime would have almost certainly been interrupted by enemy fire or new orders. Follow along as we challenge ourselves to create our own, timed, blind contour self portrait!
Materials needed:
- Paper
- Drawing utensils (I’m using different colored permanent markers)
- Mirror (a front-facing phone camera works great, too!)
- Timer
To begin, set your mirror and your paper up so that you cannot see your paper in your peripheral vision while looking at yourself in the mirror. Set a timer to a short amount of time that will force you to draw quickly. I gave myself one minute for each drawing. Pick one color and stare at yourself in the mirror while you attempt to draw your face without looking and without lifting your drawing utensil. See how much detail you can add in such a short amount of time! Once the timer is up, stop drawing. How silly does your portrait look?
Next, pick your second color and set your timer again. Make your second attempt at a self portrait right on top of your first attempt or draw them side-by-side. I drew mine on top of each other. Make sure you can’t see what you are drawing, and that you’re not lifting your hand from the page!
The outcome of this activity is a fun and loose design that shares some small resemblances to your own face. With practice you can get more accurate, but this activity is designed to look imperfect and to emphasize process over outcome. How can an artist (or soldier) get the best results in the most efficient way while working under a time crunch? What is the best “route” to move the writing utensil to end up with the most quality linework?
For more inspiration, see Ghost Army: The Combat Con Artists of World War II, on view at FWMoA until October 26.