Malik, Omar

(my brother)

I recorded this from my phone on the day that Omar graduated from college.

It has now occured to me that I should include a video with my projects. I knew I wanted to talk to each person about their hands, what they do with them, and photograph or draw them in action... but I realized that projecting a crisp video of the activity might be another way of understanding the depth of my project. I'll have to think about this more...

Omar once had his hands taped to the bottom of his desk for tapping/drumming too much. Music. Music. Music. I love him. I love him. I love him.

moleskin drawings: spring '08

defining Hands

hand |hand| noun 1 the end part of a person's arm beyond the wrist, including the palm, fingers, and thumb : she placed the money on the palm of her hand | he was leading her by the hand. • a similar prehensile organ forming the end part of a limb of various mammals, such as that on all four limbs of a monkey. • [as adj. ] operated by or held in the hand : hand luggage. • [as adj. or in combination ] done or made manually rather than by machine : hand signals | a hand-stitched quilt. • [in sing. ] informal a round of applause : his fans gave him a big hand. • dated a pledge of marriage by a woman : he wrote to request the hand of her daughter in marriage. 2 something resembling a hand in form or position, in particular • a pointer on a clock or watch indicating the passing of units of time : the second hand. • a bunch of bananas. 3 ( hands) used in reference to the power to direct something : the day-to-day running of the house was in her hands | taking the law into their own hands. • (usu. a hand) an active role in influencing something : he had a big hand in organizing the event. • (usu. a hand) help in doing something : do you need a hand? • (usu. hands) (in sports) skill and dexterity : he's a receiver with very good hands. • a person's workmanship, esp. in artistic work : this should be a clue in attributing other work to his hand. • a person's handwriting : he inscribed the statement in a bold hand. • [with adj. ] a person who does something to a specified standard : I'm a great hand at inventing. 4 a person who engages in manual labor, esp. in a factory, on a farm, or on board a ship : a factory hand | the ship was lost with all hands. 5 the set of cards dealt to a player in a card game. • a round or short spell of play in a card game : his idea of a good time would be a hand of bridge. • Bridge the cards held by declarer as opposed to those in the dummy. 6 a unit of measurement of a horse's height, equal to 4 inches (10.16 cm). [ORIGIN: denoting the breadth of a hand, formerly used as a more general lineal measure and taken to equal three inches.] 7 the feel of goods, esp. textiles, when handled : fabrics with a softer hand. verb 1 [with two objs. ] pick (something) up and give to (someone) : he handed each man a glass | I handed the trowel back to him. • informal make (abusive, untrue, or otherwise objectionable) remarks to (someone) : all the yarns she'd been handing me. • informal make (something) easily obtainable for (someone) : it was a win handed to him on a plate. 2 [ trans. ] hold the hand of (someone) in order to help them move in the specified direction : he handed him into a carriage. 3 [ trans. ] Sailing take in or furl (a sail) : hand in the main! PHRASES at hand nearby : keep the manual close at hand. • readily accessible when needed. • close in time; about to happen : a breakthrough in combating the disease may be at hand. at (or by) the hands (or hand) of through the agency of : tests he would undergo at the hands of a senior neurologist. bind (or tie) someone hand and foot tie someone's hands and feet together. by hand by a person and not a machine : the crop has to be harvested by hand. give (or lend) a hand assist in an action or enterprise. hand in glove in close collusion or association : they were working hand in glove with our enemies. hand in hand (of two people) with hands joined, esp. as a mark of affection. • figurative closely associated : she had the confidence that usually goes hand in hand with experience. ( from) hand to mouth satisfying only one's immediate needs because of lack of money for future plans and investments : they were flat broke and living hand to mouth | [as adj. ] a hand-to-mouth existence. hands down easily and decisively; without question : winning the debate hands down. hands off used as a warning not to touch or interfere with something : hands off that cake! • [as adj. ] ( hands-off) not involving or requiring direct control or intervention : a hands-off management style. hands-on involving or offering active participation rather than theory : hands-on practice to gain experience. • Computing involving or requiring personal operation at a keyboard. hands up! used as an instruction to raise one's hands in surrender or to signify assent or participation : Hands up! Who saw the program? have one's hands full have as much work as one can do. have one's hands tied informal be unable to act freely. have to hand it to someone informal used to acknowledge the merit or achievement of someone : I've got to hand it to you—you've got the magic touch. in hand 1 receiving or requiring immediate attention : he threw himself into the work in hand. • in progress : negotiations are now well in hand. 2 ready for use if required; in reserve : he had $1,000 of borrowed cash in hand. 3 under one's control : the police had the situation well in hand. • (of land) farmed directly by its owner and not let to tenants. in safe hands protected by someone trustworthy from harm or damage : the future of the cathedral is in safe hands. keep one's hand in become (or remain) practiced in something. make (or lose or spend) money hand over fist informal make (or lose or spend) money very rapidly. off someone's hands not having to be dealt with or looked after by the person specified : they just want the problem off their hands. on every hand all around : new technologies were springing up on every hand. on hand present, esp. for a specified purpose : her trainer was on hand to give advice. • readily available. • needing to be dealt with : they had many urgent and pressing matters on hand. on someone's hands used to indicate that someone is responsible for dealing with someone or something : he has a difficult job on his hands. • used to indicate that someone is to blame for something : he has my son's blood on his hands. • at someone's disposal : since I retired I've had more time on my hands. on the one (or the other) hand used to present factors that are opposed or that support opposing opinions : a conflict between their rationally held views on the one hand and their emotions and desires on the other. out of hand 1 not under control. 2 without taking time to think : they rejected negotiations out of hand. the right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing used to convey that there is a state of confusion within a group or organization. set (or put) one's hand to start work on. stay someone's hand restrain someone from acting. take a hand become influential in determining something; intervene : fate was about to take a hand in the outcome of the championship. to hand within easy reach : have a pen and paper to hand. turn one's hand to undertake (an activity different from one's usual occupation) : a music teacher who turned his hand to writing books. wait on someone hand and foot attend to all someone's needs or requests, esp. when this is regarded as unreasonable. with one hand ( tied) behind one's back with serious limitations or restrictions : at the moment, the police are tackling record crime rates with one hand tied behind their back. • used to indicate that one could do something without any difficulty : I could do her job with one hand tied behind my back. PHRASAL VERBS hand something down 1 pass something on to a younger person or a successor : songs are handed down from mother to daughter. 2 announce something, esp. a judgment or sentence, formally or publicly. hand something in give something to a person in authority for their attention. hand something on pass something to the next person in a series or succession : he had handed on the family farm to his son. • pass responsibility for something to someone else; delegate. hand something out 1 give a share of something or one of a set of things to each of a number of people; distribute : they handed out free drinks to everyone. 2 impose or inflict a penalty or misfortune on someone. hand over pass responsibility to someone else : he will soon hand over to a new director. hand someone/something over give someone or something, or the responsibility for someone or something, to someone else : hand the matter over to the police. hand something around offer something to each of a number of people in turn : a big box of chocolates was handed around. DERIVATIVES handless adjective ORIGIN Old English hand, hond, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch hand and German Hand.

hand drawings: '05-'07

Ginsberg, Jessica: italy and ireland

Daly, Nora

In Praise of Hands, written by Nora Daly:

With every passing second as I sit and think about the life of the human hand, I can’t help but notice the number of times I move my own hands. They move in the smallest, most insignificant ways even at times when I am not consciously connected to their movement. Their motions are confident in direction, and harbor an unexplainable knowledge of the surfaces they explore. My fingers extend and flutter, retract and play dead; each one stands alone, but freely mingles with the others giving the idea that they are aware of their life and the life that flows through each neighboring phalange. I feel as though in The Life of Forms in Art, Henri Focillion wanted to express the hand as more than just a lifeless extremity ruled by the mind but more like a tool that connects the internal thoughts and intentions of the brain with the physical world.
This idea is interesting because a person’s hand is simple and is something that is taken for granted; we use them to greet, hold, talk, express, paint, sculpt, mimic, and create sound. They have the power to give the gift of voice to the mute, reading for the blind and conversation to the deaf, and the list goes on. All of these actions whether they are intentional or not come from the fluidity of the connection of the brain down to our fingertips. It is a nearly impossible and an utterly frustrating task to pin point and even comprehend the exact moment in which the Frontal Lobe of the brain sends the split-second signal to the nerves in ones hand, directing them to scratch, lift, rub, feel or hide away. Our hands are filled with life, for, they have a pulse, feel pain, tickles and relaxation, and they can form to any shape with a simple grasp, and can bend at a single digit. However, it is a far deeper topic than just the molecular and scientific aspect of the Parietal Lobe’s control over sense of touch and appreciation of form through contact, and the simplistic knowledge that the hand moves at the will of its owner; instead it is a force that cannot be documented or measure by any reach of science.
The powerfulness of the hand and its ability to morph thoughts and ideas into matter and images as well as to feel and fulfill the brains analysis of certain things is amazing, and Focillon illustrates this point beautifully when he says, “The sense of touch fills nature with mysterious forces. Without it, nature is like the pleasant landscapes of the magic lantern, slight, flat and chimerical” (In Praise of Hands, page 163). This statement truly shows the connection a hand can create between the mind and the most inner senses; it reaches out well past the confines of the skull and can implement these feelings by a simple touch; a touch that can also change the path of the mind, giving it more substance and concreteness to define or create it. The hand is the foremost ambassador for humans to interact with the world around them; they translate our thoughts into words on paper and actions by demonstration and emphasis. They give life to our conversation, and even extend the invisible emotions of love, like the skip of a heart or the rush of blood to the head all in their fluid movements.
Hands take the life of the mind, life of their own, and sometimes give life to other objects. They cause change in landscape, destruction, and addition, but also create form from the bleakest of canvases. One author has put it as such, “But one of the attributes of love, like art, is to bring harmony and order out of chaos, to introduce meaning and affect where before there was none, to give rhythmic variations, highs and lows to a landscape that was previously flat." I feel as though the hand is the most vital tool in connecting and extending feelings, of love, aggression and concern; they connect different objects to one another, for all hands that create art interconnect other works of art, essentially adding to their beauty as one. It is mentioned in, In Praise of Hands like so, “Contact and usage humanized the inert object and more or less set it apart from its classification as something unique. Anyone who has not known men who live by their hands cannot understand the strength of these hidden relationships” (In Praise of Hands, page 166).
I believe the thought that the human hand, whether it be attached to the greatest painter of all time or the iron worker who built the scaffolding used to support the artist, the hand is a wonderful tool. One that connects and mobilizes the visions and imaginations of the most innovative thinkers, for the hand is controlled by the mind, but it also has a life of its own, and fluidity that comes from its intricate bone structure and tendon flexibility is something that is almost unimaginable to explain or conceptualize as controllable.
But what exactly are the connecting factors between the outside world and the human hand. Our fingertips seem to be the most sensitive and dependable instruments known to mankind, so can we negate the power of the entire extremity and simply apply our praise to the 5 extensions of our palm? I find this entire topic to be so striking because it is one that never has an end. I have developed a great interest and wide range of thought on this idea of praising the hand. I see it as a very profound suggestion that our hands could be more than just an extension of our wrists, or simply lifeless forms made up of bone, tendons, and flesh. It has been presented in the text in such a profound way, and I found myself taking notice of the actions in which my hands create, and take part in, whether they be of the minutest measure or the greatest of displays my hands move with fluidity and coordination. With this movement it is possible for the hands to begin the creation process and allow art to move from the confines of the mind and be placed into the outside world. In creating art as it has been discussed before, it is more than just a physical experience of hand meets brush, and brush meets canvas, it’s a state of mind, a true mental and emotional experience; one that can ease the mind and entrance the artist deep into their craft. I believe it is during creation that the hand and mind bond in the most unexplainable way. For, it is during this time that the deepest and most creative thoughts are given a space to spill through, and take form from their once shapeless existence. When painting, sculpting, smudging, or tediously penning the finest detail our hand is our most trusted tool, for it is at this time that we control our movements to go left to right, apply pressure for varied shades and connect the picture in our mind to what is there in front of us. But in my own creating experience I struggled with the reality of what was really in control. It is such a fluid movement when creating art that I found myself relaxed into a trance-like state, my thoughts were brought to life by the stroke of my hand and it was easy to sit back and just let my hand do the creating. There was subconscious direction and it moved and positioned itself with confidence and knowledge of how to display the picture in my head. This only can occur if you relieve yourself of all inhibitions and allow for the hand to take control and move freely.
I feel as though in making any work of art, the artist has the power and the ability to center all of their emotions and funnel their inner most passions, secrets and demons onto one canvas. In creating a visual and physical representation of the thoughts that race through your head, an artist can gain the satisfaction of making their emotions come alive right in front of them. In order to create art you must feel the transition from idea to reality. I inhabited a mode of being that was calm and collected, thoughtful and focused. I was able to pour my thoughts onto the paper with my most natural tool, and in doing so I gained a sense of clarity, and appreciation for the thoughts that so often get jumbled within the walls of my mind. Through this process and the process of examining art, the hand can not only create but help propel the phenomenon of creating and influence more profound though, for example; with the start of my piece of art all I had was the picture in my mind and the theme I wanted to present, so I began to draw and draw some more, and with every stroke and swerve of my hand a new form came about, allowing me to see more within the drawing; a picture within itself; as if it was doing the creating along with me.
It is truly an intriguing experience to try and consciously note and pin point the connection between brain and hand, for, their movement on the most basic level is so instinctive and natural. I see more of a connection between art and the tools we use to create it, there is rhythm and reason between the two, and our hands are the most powerful and dependable instruments in expression. Whether it may be with paints or clay, or reaching out to shake a hand, caress the face of a lover, strike the air with frustration or shake about to add emphasis to a story, our hands feed off of the life that runs through them, and add life and color to the world around us. With a simple touch our inner beings can feel, explore, be burned, feel comfort and connect with others and things, therefore, with our hands we can absorb as much as we contribute with these bodily and ultimately mental extensions.
There is a humbling quality to examining the life and form of hands, and through the application of using your hands it is rewarding to see that art and creation are connected far beyond the outward stretch of the hand and arm.


1. Focillon, Henri. The Life of Forms in Art. New York: Zone Books, 1992. 157-184.

2. “But one of the attributes of love, like art, is to bring harmony and order out of chaos, to introduce meaning and affect where before there was none, to give rhythmic variations, highs and lows to a landscape that was previously flat."
-Molly Haskell












Nora and I have known each other since kindergarten, and she has known me longer and deeper than most people. We have an extremely unique friendship, as we agree on so much but also are coming into ourselves. I consider Nora an admirable woman, and an intelligent female in my generation. I am proud to consider myself part of her family, and have traveled to Ireland, London, Italy, Greece, and Turkey with her at different points in our lives. Our protective and sincere friendship is part of who I was and who I am becoming, and I can't imagine the many places we both may go. The nature of who we are as independent spirits naturally lends us to distant correspondence, but our sincerity is the basis for love for one another ambitions and hopes. I nurture her dreams, as well as her to mine.

Nora's hands are so recognizable to me personally, especially knowing her mother's- which are incredibly similiar. However, I believe that Nora's have a strength to them very different than her mothers. Whether it be sports or all of her writing and journaling- she has identified her own's from both her mother's and her grandmother's.

Malik, Marilyn

Thompson, Jean

Tree: Feet Planted/Dedicated Tree

McGeehan, Bryn

Malik, Sabrina Aisha

Gold, Eli

Tree: Barcelona Shadows

Trees: Madrid