Video Demonstration of Perception and Drawing

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I made a previous thread on this topic but I think I did a bad job of explaining what I was trying to do, and it got horribly derailed. I'm going to try to start fresh here with a new example.

Basically, my sensory issues make it impossible for me to be a "traditional" artist. This is okay and I'm fine with my alternative art, but I think that a demonstration of what happens when I try to draw in a traditional way can be helpful in trying to show NTs what it really means to have this type of perception and how it affects our lives in a practical way. I have made a video of myself trying to draw a simple scene and narrating as I go why I'm drawing what I am and why it is not accurate to life. I'm hoping for some feedback on this.

http://crowdedhead.blog.com/2012/12/28/ ... nstration/

What I would like to know is:

1. Does this demonstration provide any insight into what's going on in my head and what my perception is actually like?
2. Would NTs be likely to gain any better understanding from watching this video?
3. How could I make this sort of demonstration more effective? What am I missing or explaining badly?
4. Does anyone have any other examples trying to demonstrate your perception in any way other than verbally? Or would anyone be willing to try to create something like this? It would be wonderful to come up with a collection of works trying to give NTs a glimpse into the world we see and it will be very difficult for me to do it all by myself, especially since each of us experiences something different.

Please, I know that everyone has their own ideas and suggestions about how to improve art skill, but that's not what this thread is meant to be about. Whatever you want to suggest, I can almost guarantee I have tried it. : ) Thanks for the good intentions here but really I just want to focus on this demonstration and also future attempts, which I hope will get better the more I work at this.

It's important to me to help improve communication between those of us on the spectrum and NTs. I think a lack of understanding underlies a lot of the problems we all face every day, and there's something we can do about this if we put more energy into trying to educate people and less into complaining about how unfair the world is.

Wow I could relate to some of it. I also thought everyone had that issue about if a furniture would fit in a certain spot or why else would my parents use a tape measure to measure the piece and then measure the area to see if it would fit? Perhaps they have that same issue too. Then I envied my husband for having such a visual thinking skill. He could picture how to fit things and do it without measuring it. I had no clue that was actually normal so I thought it was a gift he had. He does that with food too, he can picture in his head how it's all going to fit and he knows how big and long it is and he somehow knows without having to actually do it to see. It took me a while to trust him with it.

I thought I just need practice to make things accurate when I would draw something but maybe if I practiced, maybe I would get better. I have done lot of erasing when I would be doing artwork in class. Luckily no teacher has marked my work down.

I don't think my problem is as severe as yours.

Yeah, it seems most people can judge, at least roughly, size and distance just by looking. Your parents might have used a tape measure if the size of the furniture was similar to the size of the empty space and they wanted to make sure it would fit, but if there's tons of extra room, people can generally tell just at a glance. For me, I once decided to move a bed to a different corner of the room and was unsure if it would fit. My roommate at the time stared at me uncomprehendingly and assured me there was plenty of space. When I moved it I discovered there was more than a meter of extra space. I just couldn't tell until it was there.

Also it seems most people can judge pretty well how much food they have, how many people it will feed, how much space it will take up in storage or on the plate, etc. I have absolutely no way to tell without just trying it and hoping I guess right.

It's possible that you will get better if you keep practicing. I'm sure some people can, it's just that because many (perhaps most) people are capable of this, people are generally incredulous when someone claims they are simply incapable of it no matter how much they practice. We all have different abilities and disabilities. Everyone is keenly aware of things they struggle with personally, but it's tough to recognize that other may struggle as well, just with different things.

I have a talent for grammar, yet people get angry when I criticize others for using poor grammar. I still don't quite understand how, just because they are good at other things, in this case drawing what they see, it's acceptable for them to criticize me for struggling with it. Absolute double standard.

It's a good thing that artists have radically different perceptions, otherwise the world would be full of boring cookycutter art! It's absolutely certain that the great Van Gogh had an unusual perception. Whether that was caused by temporal lobe epilepsy, bipolar disorder, or simply heavy metal poisoning, remains a point of debate. I've studied another fairly unknown Flemish master in detail, and his paintings have 'odd' proportions too, as well as a very strange perspective. It's part of his charm for those who admire him.

The very essence of art is to draw what you see (or imagine), otherwise there would be no point in it. Sure, drawing from life can often be improved with practice, but not always.

I don't think there is a way to explain what you perceive, except by drawing it. I don't perceive as you do, but on an intuitive level it makes sense to me. It has a charm, precisely because you draw what you see. It's far more expressive than if you had been able to draw a perfect copy of the chair with clothes and book.

It is strange how prejudices govern the way a lot of people think about art. When I was in art school, my teachers would have adored you. For my postmodernist teachers realistic drawing was taboo. It was all about personal expression, and to Hades with perspective and 'correct' proportions. These last few years, I've seen a backlash and now the prejudice is that an artist seems to have to be able to draw like a photocopying machine.

I can draw reasonably from life, but I'm very slow at it and it requires a tremendous amount of concentration. So much so that I can't speak and draw at the same time (some people don't understand that either).

I'm incredibly jealous of your teachers! The art teachers I had were all very strict classicists. Each assignment had to be done in exactly the style they demanded or else you couldn't pass the course, and their goal always seemed to be training us to draw as accurately and realistically as possible. Abstract and postmodern art were dismissed as not "real" art, likened to kids with fingerpaint (which, coincidentally, I find to be some of the most beautiful art in the world). Even now with my adult artist friends, I keep hearing that I should be learning art as a technical skill, and my personal style can be developed later, once I have these "basic essentials" down pat.

I disagree completely, but people really do have an arrogance about art and what they consider good, and what they consider talent.

I wish I had had more open-minded teachers when I was young. If I had been encouraged in my unique style (which I now personally value), I might have focused more on it then, possibly even gone to art school. Instead I had parents telling me I'd never make any money with drawing and teachers telling me I didn't draw well enough. It's a wonder I didn't quit altogether.

Van Gogh is my hero. I suppose it's noteworthy that when he was alive, no one had any respect whatsoever for his work.

I just want to try bumping this one once. My blog statistics show I got a record number of views yesterday, but almost zero feedback. If anyone could please share your thoughts, and especially if anyone would be willing to help me create more of this type of educational material, I'd really appreciate it. Thanks guys!