Whip It Up!
By John W. Healy

The whiplash line starts from one point and trails down (top). Using this line, flowers can become beautiful Art Nouveau illustrations (bottom).

The whiplash line is a most attractive and appealing design element. When children learn this simple technique and incorporate it into their art, that which perhaps was static and clumsy becomes a line with movement and fluidity. The whiplash line is extremely graceful – by itself or in a design employed to interpret a subject like a flower, a figure, the feathers of a bird, etc. These subjects can now be rendered by moving into abstraction yet keeping the identifiable qualities of the theme. A rose, for example (see illustration at right), may now be drawn twisting in and out of contiguous whiplash lines growing on paper, not as it does toward the sun, but rather in the imagination of a child.

Origins of the whiplash line
The whiplash line is historically associated with "Art Nouveau," a most appealing French movement in art. "Art New" became quite popular in Europe in the early 1890s and then spread to the United States.

For the next 20 years, until the onset of World War I, Art Nouveau's popularity in drawing, painting, sculpture, architecture, jewelry design, ceramics and furniture made it an essential of so many turn-of-the-century, beautiful and now highly valued works of art. Artists of this era who demonstrated the versatility of the whiplash line were René Lalique, Louis Comfort Tiffany, Aubrey Beardsley, Alfonse Mucha, Gustav Klimt and Toulouse-Lautrec. These are only a few of the memorable Art Nouveau artists.

While any art movement can become overdone and contribute to its obsolescence, these originators are timeless. Their contribution to beloved historical works of art is unforgettable. To learn from the masters is to grow as an artist.

Classroom suggestions

• Before the lesson starts, place examples of Art Nouveau in poster form and teacher-made exhibits around the classroom. This will generate a great deal of class discussion.
• The teacher-selected classroom exhibits should show a diversity of media used by Art Nouveau artists. When possible, secure posters of drawings, paintings, sculpture, architecture, jewelry, ceramics and furniture in this style.
• The names of Art Nouveau artists are useful when they can be accurately associated with a particular work of art. Art history as a component of each art lesson gives children the opportunity to learn from the experiences of others. This is similar to the study of literature and those writers who've broadened the range of artistic, original expression.
• Ask the class to compare and contrast what they see around the room. What they like and don't like is fine. It's important for students to verbalize why they came to these opinions.
• Define and demonstrate for the class how to draw a whiplash line. Ask the students to imagine the line which is drawn in the air when a whip is set in motion.
• Demonstrate a series of shapes that are all started from the same point and spreading out and overlapping as they go down the page (see photograph below). When the children repeat this exercise, they'll find it easy as well as fun to do. Draw these lines both lightly and large.
• Ask the class to look at their drawings of repeated, overlapping lines. Does anything look familiar? Turn the paper from side to side. Do they recognize something?
• When children recognize something familiar in their drawings, be sure to encourage them to draw more of that subject into whiplash lines, making it more identifiable.
• Students should erase any extra whiplash lines from their finished drawing.

The material world
The whiplash line is a vehicle for self-expression and broadens one's artistic vocabulary. A good follow-up lesson would be to give the class items from the material world to draw. Flowers, leaves and plants make beautiful Art Nouveau illustrations.

If the student is looking for movement, fluidity, grace and balance, consider the whiplash line. This design element is not to be used in all drawings, yet frees the artist from creating a laundry list of what they see and then draw. A flower rendered with every petal may lack the vitality of what is so beautiful about such a subject.

Dr. John W. Healy teaches art at Woodland Middle School, East Meadow, NY.

January, 2004, Vol.34, No.4