"To Line"

Here is a delightful video from Atelier RZLBD, a boutique art and architecture practice based in Toronto founded by Reza Aliabadi, about the concept of a line. A line can be drawn, a line can be made of objects, a line can be a crease, an interruption, a line can be shadow, a line be the destruction of something and the creation of something else.

"A drawing is simply a line going for a walk."
--Paul Klee

Over a charrette, Atelier RZLBD pursued an open series exploring the act of drawing an analogue line. We present 64 lines, each created to push the boundaries of how we understand line.

As computer aided drawing takes over the art and architecture disciplines, traditional methods of design, sketching, and drafting have become a lost art. A digital line is defined merely by a start and end coordinate, existing in an infinite realm with no character or imperfection. Lacking any sense of scale, a computer can generate a line of any length instantly. To some, this is an ideal – a sense of perfection, mathematical precision, efficiency, and reliability. However, the complex interaction between humans, tools, intentions, motivations, expressions, purposes, cultural customs, cognitive routines, techniques, and materials cannot be forgotten.

A drawn line is not merely one-dimensional. By the touch of a human hand, each line is drawn through the intimate interaction of a tool onto a medium; we are bound by the limits of these materials. The medium has a distinct size, coloration, and consistency, while the tool has a specific thickness, function, and agility. Uniting two contrasting materials creates texture, intricacy, detail, and uncertainty. How you draw a line determines the outcome. The expression of the line reflects the lived experiences of its creator and the material itself, making every drawn line unique with its own personality.

A line is more than precision and efficiency – it carries time, space, weight, and spirit. A line is the first act of creation. A line is a verb: a performance, a process rather than a result. And last but not least, a line has a soul, like the one who draws it. _ RZLBD

http://www.rzlbd.com/