22 TEACHERs COLLEGE COLUmbIA UNIvERsITy
The bigger Picture of Drawing
a result of an initiative taken by the state employee
responsible for road safety. Ever since Edward N.
Hines ordered the first white line to be drawn down
the centre of a Michigan highway, the drawing that
became the road markings of North America has
gradually increased in both size and complexity,
and perpetually remained in a state of growth, revi-
sion and restoration.
Recognized today as one of the most impor-
tant traffic safety devices in the history of highway
transportation, the first line (which was apparently
inspired by a leaking milk truck) had just one pur-
pose, to divide a road in two in order to prevent
vehicles colliding head on.
What started as a simple white on black line
drawing, over time, became more complex, words,
symbols and colours were added. The purpose of
the drawing however, remains exactly the same, to
facilitate the safe flow of road traffic and mediate
between the driver, the pedestrian and a “narrative”
provided by the Drivers Hand Book. By using a
predominantly drawn, conceptually driven—rather
than a concrete and steel object based—traffic con-
trol system, the highway administration not only
maintained a flexible, easily revisable, ecologically
sustainable and inexpensive control system, they
improved road safety by providing the driver with
less obstacles to hit.
A taxonomy
As Sarah Palin looks towards the Alaskan State
Flag, she sees eight golden stars on a dark blue field.
During the process of looking I suspect she seldom
if ever reflects upon the two very different kinds of
drawing that from the very start enabled that flag.
The first is the drawing that Benny Benson
made when he was a seventh-grader, that made
him the winner of the 1926 Territory-wide contest
for schoolchildren to draw a flag for what would
become the 49th state of America. The second is
the drawing every Alaskan makes without realizing
it every time they look at their flag and most times
they look up at a clear night sky.
Sarah Palin will recognize the image of the star
top right as the pole star, she will also know the
seven below as an asterism. She may or may not
know the word asterism, or that the cluster of stars
she is looking at are the best known part of the con-
stellation Ursa Major. What we can rely upon how-
ever, is her knowing the common name of that star
cluster.
Every time the ex-governor looks up at the Big
Dipper, we know she completes a drawing. There
are no pencils or paper involved. Her drawing is a
rehearsed cerebral act, an act dependent on her first
recognizing a familiar set of markers, then joining
up the dots in her mind to produce a nameable
drawn image.
There is, of course, a lot more to drawing than
simply joining up the dots. Drawing throughout
history has been driven by our need to measure,
estimate, imagine, record and invent. This has
resulted in drawing becoming an important force,
not just in enhancing our understanding of our
planet and solar system, but in
helping shape our relationship
with our environment. Drawing
has, to put it simply, been critical
in our relationship with discov-
e r y.
After our ability to make
marks in the dust, estimate and
accurately measure, the two
most significant discoveries
within drawing have been: first
the realization that three-dimen-
sional things can be represented
in two dimensions by an outline;
then that places, things, time,
directions and quantities can be
represented by marks that have
only a passing relationship withFigure 1. A conceptual taxonomy of drawing. Ink on paper, 2010. what they represent.