Kinetic Drawing: Capturing Movement on Canvas

January 20, 2014

Why are dancers getting psyched about New Orleans-based Heather Hansen?


Heather Hansen in Emptied Gestures (Photo by Bryan Tarnowski)

Well, you can probably tell by her perfect butterfly pose (and her charcoal-covered body) that she’s no ordinary visual artist. In Emptied Gestures, Hansen experiments with something she calls kinetic drawing—basically, movement captured on canvas, with the entire body serving as the paint brush. Just like a dancer, she uses her body as an instrument.

Hansen opened her creative process to an audience at Ochi Gallery in Idaho, giving them the opportunity to witness the actual choreographed “gestures” that she “empties” onto the canvas.


Hansen performed Emptied Gestures for an audience at Ochi Gallery in Idaho (photo by Spencer Hansen)

So is Heather Hansen a dancer? A painter? A performance artist? All three? Does it matter? Check out this condensed video of Emptied Gestures, and then decide for yourself!