From Point and line to plane

Kandinsky's 'Point and line to plane' is a key text when trying to come to an understanding of abstraction. You can find the full text here

The image above is Kandinsky's attempt to transcribe a piece of music directly into a visual format. The text 'Point and Line to Plane' is nearly a 100 years old now, but as an entry point into thinking of drawing as a 'pure' language it has no equal. As drawing students you should all have been through this seminal book and thought about how and why you might still use its central concept, the idea of a visual language. 

The other key text from this time is of course Paul Klee's Pedagogical Sketchbook. You can find a copy here.

A page from Paul Klee's Pedagogical Sketchbook

There is a long history behind the thinking about these issues, compare William Hogarth's 'The Analysis of Beauty' available here.

See also:

Real and symbolic lines drawn in space

Flowing line drawings

the dotted line

Eye Music