Published in TRACEY: Is Drawing a Language July 2008 http://www.lboro.ac.uk/departments/ac/tracey/ Contemporary Drawing Research [email protected] MIRRORING DYSLEXIA The power relations of language The drawings of John Court (2006-2007) By Steve Pratt "Language is power, life and the instrument of culture, the instrument of domination and liberation" Angela Carter. If it is true that art 'movements' are continuously shown to be reactions to events outside their sphere of influence, then it is my contention in this essay that John Court's drawings can be seen as a reaction against the institutionalised centrality of language per se - in particular conceptual art's shift of emphasis from a merely visual (passive) activity to a more cognitive (active) process of READING a work of art (1). Some would argue that those two activities are one and the same by the nature of their linguistic explanation, but it's also reasonable to assume that it is not the same for everyone due to the differing array of specific learning situations. My point here is that conceptual art's preoccupation with the specification and meaning of a work through the use of language devices - even though those devices are a parody of themselves are no less problematic. Sociolinguist Mary Louise Pratt, identifies parody as one of the "arts of the contact zone," through which marginalized or oppressed groups "selectively appropriate," or imitate and take over, aspects of more empowered cultures (2). Marginalised groups on the periphery of learning, such as adult immigrants, and the disabled come immediately to mind. Language operates within a framework of political and economic power (3) and within its parameters are the power relations to enable or disable learning. Mainstream Conceptual art presents us with statements (Lawrence Weiner, John Baldessari, Art and Language et al); written instructions (Le Wit et al); definitions (Joseph Kosuth et al); documentation (Dan Graham et al) and the iconic use of language itself (Jenny Holzer et al) (4). John Court's work reaches deeper into the post-modern psyche to reveal a flaw in the make up of language itself; by presenting the viewer with a physical deconstruction of the symbolic structure of language he reveals the disempowerment of being without a recognisable language. It is not just the destabilisation of meaning but a threat to our very existence. Without language we cannot survive socially, politically or economically. This absence reveals the power relations of language and highlights the need for an equality of language learning - not just in reading but in speaking and learning for all. The visual experience of how we come to understand the world is quite distinct from the verbalised attempts to impose authority and meaning by those in power. "When I see a word in a text my first reaction is to feel uncomfortable" John Court left school, unable to read or write, and yet at the age of 28 he graduated from Norwich School of Art and Design with the highest mark in visual representation for his year. A remarkable journey in which he had to create a system (5) of learning in order to cope with the more text based educational demands of the educational institutions. "Being dyslexic, I don't make much sense of the world (as a text), but when I go into my studio and engage with these drawings - I feel everything comes together again; and for the impassive viewer they should impart an energy that adds to the space they occupy." "Text worries me on two fronts: Firstly, we are so judged by the art statements we make And Secondly, those words (in their textual form) have made little sense to me." The importance of the 'Art Statement' John Court's drawing practice began in 1997 whilst studying at Norwich School or Art and Design. The 2006-2007 drawings take the form of intricately constructed concentric spheres made up of words associated with his art practice - iconic words that have been appropriated by the history and theory of art are reworked by the artist to present a model of ineligibility. "At some point I started to realise that we are all judged by what we say about what we do, so I started to write down words and statements on paper which I felt expressed my own approach to art" "I wrote them down in pencil on paper sometimes copying them tens of times like a child learning to read and write." "In the beginning I tried to make a simple statement, but did not have the confidence to leave it as a completed text because I did not even have the confidence to place a full stop, even if there were no words after the final word, so I cut up the text into individual words, then I randomly reorganised the words into four A4 sheets of text using all the words I had." In John's world this recomposition of a text through the classical act of drawing gives him the footing to continue (unconsciously) building a language he can "feel comfortable with." Process and system The drawings in their entirety, present a labour intensive engagement, like the undertaking of an epic journey; a quest for a stable relationship with language (6) but where meaning is achieved (ironically) by the construction of a single word - a repetitive process of searching through pencil composition over hours, days, months and years. For many observers THE WORD is our basic unit of intelligibility. For John Court the word is secondary - and on most occasions - not to be trusted. THE PENCIL LINE becomes the embodiment of a communication and this physicality of structure constitutes his primary unit of understanding because it records a mark (established in the visual representation of his bodily position) in time and space. In this sense there is a direct correlation to the classicism of Leonardo de Vinci's drawings to show how representation through drawing can bring a form of non verbal understanding. In relation to the learning process and the activity of reading We 'respond' to text in a different way than we might respond to a picture. Different cognitive pathways are called upon to decode the content, and we use different skills to identify meaning. For example the word 'tree' has a different structure and resonance than the picture of a tree. The word 'tree' contains a particular pattern of four symbols (syllables) to present the resonance of a word. Some dyslexic students are unable to identify the symbolic structure of a word and are therefore unable to reproduce the resonance of that word - so that it becomes just another word (7) - an incomprehensible structure. For most observers, the spatial representation of a tree is more immediate; it signifies a mental picture of a tree. Reading is a highly complex process which draws on a hierarchical patterning of interpretative hypotheses (8). On one level reading is an active process of selection and inference to determine meaning whilst on another level reading requires a relational position between reader and its objects - a relational position to the social, political and economic experience of our daily lives. The Function of Concentricity in John Court's drawings One classification of concentricity is "having the same centre" - a very simple yet scientifically difficult proposition to produce. An allocation of space in time where the inner has a relationship to the outer and from that we can assume the conditions for one will affect the other. The word 'centre' signifies the existence of a centre point which is somehow embedded with an element of truth or precision. If the centre point of a circle is not in the centre then the circle itself becomes flawed, for example a machine operating on a faulty bearing will gradually loose efficiency and break. The consequence for language acquisition could be that if the part of the brain is somehow out of synchronisation with the rest of the brain responsible for language acquisition then 'blind spots' may appear and those problems may be amplified along the learning pathway. In philosophical terms, Certeau shows how "circles of writing" operate at different levels to form preferences for known things. The complexity of this idea is boundless as divisions of social space produce hierarchical structures which in turn prescribe and regulate their relationship with each other in order to promote a social consciousness of 'otherness' - they prescribe their difference. (9) "John's world" - a mirror on the instability of writing and meaning If we accept the process of communication through written language as the medium by which we form knowledge about ourselves and our place within the wider social, political and economic world, then it also follows that written language is central to how we come to understand and communicate the meanings of things we come into contact with. I have pointed out earlier how Certeau sought to show how the act of writing itself problematises and destabilises the relationship between itself, meaning and knowledge. As Saussure showed, language is not a fixed or neutral medium - it is dependent upon the conventions that organise language into "signifying systems". (10) The above statement sets up a problematic cause and effect which highlights differences in significance and user ability of written language in the search for meaning - In John Court's case this difference drew him to deconstruct the structuralist approach to language thus enabling the creation of "John's world;" a world in which he could feel comfortable about text; a way of trying to understand meaning by engaging with the physicality of words within the specifics of a particular space and time.