There is a significant distinction between LOOKING and SEEING. As the 19th-century biologist and educator, Thomas Huxley, wrote in his proposal for a new universal education, “I should in the first place secure training in reading and writing . . . but in addition to that, make it absolutely necessary . . . to learn to draw. . . . It gives you the means of training in attention and accuracy to that which you SEE, which are the two things in which all mankind are more deficient than in any other mental quality.” To these might be added the ability to evaluate that visual information.
Therefore, this talk is not about HOW to sketch, but WHY to sketch. One need not have acquired any drawing skills to find this subject matter meaningful. Included will be many examples of sketches by naturalists, adventurers, architects, and artists. The intention will be to expand one’s definition of “sketching” to new limits. For example, how would one sketch the sounds of a songbird or a cricket?
Presenter Arnold J. Aho AIA has taught architecture and basic design for more than 40 years at North Carolina State University, Mississippi State University, and Norwich University, where he started the new Architecture Program and served as its first director. He was educated at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the University of Pennsylvania, where he studied under Louis I. Kahn. Arnie has written many publications on materials and energies in design, vernacular (folk) architecture, and the relationships between the natural and built environments. In addition to numerous design awards, he has received distinguished teaching recognition, including the Burlington Northern Outstanding Teacher Award (MSU) and the Dana Distinguished Professor (NU).