Hannah McGourty: Land and Tracks

                                                 Land and Tracks Hannah McGourty 


My interpretative strategy to explore Nancy Newton’s art practice is a drawing exercise that involves studying one's own impact on the land and studying Nancy Newton’s specific drawing practice. 

Nancy’s expresses great respect and reverence for the land, she also has mentioned a love for figure skating. I saw an instant visual connection between her drawings and the carvings left on the ice after skating. I thought this was a beautiful connection to our tracks and the marks we make on the land when we travel. These drawings specifically interested me through the line work and pattern, and how they reminded me of carvings on the ice after skating. 

For my interpretative plan, participants can view their steps, train or car routes, bike paths, etc. Then, using these as a visual reference, create a line drawing representing these routes. 
First, I opened google maps in order to find my regular routes. For driving or train trips, it was simple to use the directions feature to highlight the trip. For walking and biking trips however, I pulled up the google maps view of the area and hand drew the paths I most commonly take. Then, using these images as a starting point, I created line drawings inspired by Nancy Newton’s drawing practice.  

I found this process to be very cathartic and meditative. I found myself focusing on the area where I stopped on my walks or hit traffic on my drives. It was fun and interesting to visually express my connection to these places. I found myself focusing on the areas where I often stop to smoke with my friends or my dog's favorite walking spot. It was fun and interesting to see how the linework visually expresses a deeper connection to some places more than others. 

I feel this could be a very eye-opening experience for people, to see their impact on the land, and how often we are habitual in space and land. I believe this could lead to people being more conscious of their impact on the land, and also allow artists to start having a deeper connection to the land on which they work and create. 

Drawing 1: dog walking routes 



Drawing 2: school walking route 








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