Tracing: Gesture as a turning point that creates new developments in abstract sketching

Abstract

This study investigates perception-action couplings underlying the processes of abstract sketching, a form of drawing that proceeds without the mediation of linguistic meaning. Although studies conducted in the 1990s revealed that the co-creation of meaning and perceptual discovery drives the design process using sketches, they did not analyze the perception-action interactions involved in the process itself. Focusing on “abstract sketching,” this study explores the perception-action couplings underlying sketching processes through studies on/with the first-person’s view approach, combining the author’s own practice with video analysis of a participant’s sketching. First, through video analysis, observable “gestures,” defined as recurring stroke patterns that leave traces on the paper, were coded, and 13 types were identified. Second, co-occurrence analysis of these gestures suggested that their combinations are organized around “tracing gestures.” Third, detailed case analysis allowed us to speculate on the perception-action couplings underlying tracing gestures categorizing the patterns from the perspective of gestalt perception into the following four types: “reinforcement,” “transformation,” “differentiation,” and “integration.” It is proposed that tracing gestures regulate the touch of pencil strokes, changing gestalt perception and thereby serving as turning points that open drawing processes toward new developments, forming perception-action coupling at the core of abstract sketching.