Automatic Drawing with Susan Barnes

Automatic drawing was developed by mediums in the 1800s and has been used since the Victorian era. Later Surrealists used it as a means of expressing the subconscious mind. Today it is used as a technique to unlock the spiritual and subconscious mind. In automatic drawing, the hand is allowed to move randomly across the paper. In applying chance and accidents to making a drawing, the images are freed of rational control. Hence, the drawing produced may be attributed in part to the subconscious and may reveal something of the psyche, which would otherwise be repressed. Some early Spiritualists believed it was a Spirit who controlled the drawing process by physically taking control of the medium's body. Artists who have used automation include Georgina Houghton, Hilma af Klint, and Andre Breton.

Dr. Susan B. Barnes, CSNU, is a retired Professor of communication at Rochester Institute of Technology and holds a…