Morgan O'Hara

Morgan O’Hara’s LIVE TRANSMISSION drawings track, in real time, the vital movement of living beings, transcending both figuration and abstraction, executing a direct neural translation from one human action into another. Drawing methodically with multiple razor-sharp pencils and both hands, as performative drawing, O'Hara condenses movement into accumulations of graphite line which combine the controlled refinement of classical drawing with the unbound sensuality of spontaneous gesture. Time-space coordinates for each drawing are described with precision in titles written across the bottom of the page. O'Hara began LIVE TRANSMISSION, drawing as time-based performance, in 1989. LIVE TRANSMISSIONS render visible normally invisible or fleeting movement patterns, through seismograph-like drawing. The theoretical base for the work - visual transmission of the principle of vitality - evolved slowly over time; the archival nature of the work as well. In 2011 there exist approximately 3000 LIVE TRANSMISSION drawings done both privately and publicly on five continents. LIVE TRANSMISSIONS communicate beyond the specificity of language.