Titre : Drawing Attention: Rhythm, Repetition, and the Sense of Agency in Drawing Practice 

Auteurs : Juliette Savaëte,  

Revue : Art and Science 

Numéro : Issue 4 

Volume : 10 

Date : 2026/11/2 

DOI : 10.21494/ISTE.OP.2026.1505 

ISSN : 2515-8767 

Résumé : This article examines how the rhythmic repetition of graphic gestures transforms attentional experience and the sense of agency in drawing practice. Situated within an artistic research approach, the study draws on reflective observation of a graphic language developed since childhood, whose familiarity does not exclude unpredictability or discovery. The succession of hatching strokes, together with variations in their pace, density, and direction, gives rise to a musical quality inherent in graphic movement. While attention may shift almost instantaneously towards drawing, the repetition of strokes progressively modifies the experience of action. The artist remains fully engaged, while sometimes experiencing the rhythm of the hatching as guiding her hand as much as her hand generates that rhythm. This experience invites a distinction between initial intention, movement execution, and the subjective sense of control, without equating the absence of conscious decisions for each movement with a loss of mastery or attention. By bringing this observation into dialogue with research on the relationships between perception, attention, and action, the article proposes drawing as a field of investigation into the subjective experience of gesture. It explores how the repetition of a deeply familiar graphic language can renew the experience of action and become a source of unpredictability and discovery. 

Éditeur : ISTE OpenScience