Moving Through Space: The Use of Gesture Recognition Software in Drawing Classes
Much of the discussion about the role of Technology in Art and Design studies centers on either digital outcomes or technology as source or idea generation material, such as digital manipulation of an image. But what about technology that enhances the understanding of the world around you and thus aids in image-making, both digital and analog, without being a visible part of the final outcome?
This presentation will focus on the use of 3-dimensional Gesture Recognition software and its impact on the understanding of space, movement and composition in Drawing. By using their body to map the space and exploring it digitally, students gain a better understanding of space that they carry with them as they construct two-dimensional analog drawings.
I will discuss two kinds of software: G-Speak, which involves a specific set of gestures and infrared cameras and Sketch 3D, a software used in conjunction with X-Box. The presentation will be augmented by specific examples of assignments and student work.
Assistant Professor
Rhode Island School of Design
Masha Ryskin is painter, printmaker, and installation artist. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally. She has participated in a number of artist residencies worldwide. Ryskin is also a recipient of numerous grants, including a Fulbright Fellowship to Oslo, Norway. A political refugee from the Soviet Union, she received a classical education in painting in Moscow before earning a BFA at Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) and an MFA at the University of Michigan.
Ryskin has taught and lectured at a variety of institutions and has been teaching drawing and design at RISD since 2010. Her teaching interests include combining technologies to deepen the students’ understanding of basic elements and to foster interdisciplinary approaches to drawing and design at the foundation level.
