I had coffee today with a writer friend of mine and part of our conversation centered around an artwork of mine that was created in response to a very difficult time in my life. It is not a beautiful image - in fact, it is quite raw and violent. She described the work as beautiful. This surprised me as I did not think of the work as beautiful, in fact, I would not have used that word at all to describe the piece. She said that 'the beauty lies in the honesty of the work' and 'that was beautiful'.
I don't know if I have completely pondered that honesty is equivalent to beauty. There is truth to that statement. I've analyzed it with master works of art and know that art does not have to be beautiful in order to be powerful or effective. But the fact that something is honest to a certain extent, lends itself to being beautiful. Honesty is something that every artists strives for within their creativity. To not be honest is to create inferior work. Can we say that Picasso's, Guernica is beautiful? Yes - the use of the elements and principles of art and design are masterfully executed within the piece and the emotional content alone is powerful but there lies a beauty to the work even though it describes a horrific event. The same can be said for Goya's, The 3rd of May, 1808. I guess I never equated that to one of my works before.
Honesty and beauty do go hand in hand. Honesty requires us to look at our surroundings, no matter what they are, and derive the truth from it. It is so easy to diminish or temper the truth of a horrific event for protection - for ourselves or others. But to boldly state the truth of something that is difficult for us as humans to perceive, then that is where the true courage of an artist (or anyone for that matter) presents itself. I guess I would have to say then beauty exists within that moment or within that creativity. It requires us to take the good with the bad, to allow ourselves to see ourselves for what we are, what we are capable of, and then determine what we can become from it. This can spur both the good and the bad but when it spurs on the good, then we have risen from the ashes onto something much more glorious. There lies beauty, there lies truth, and there lies the human condition.
So, I'll leave you with this... Where is the beauty in your world? Can you find it in the most inordinate places? Will you be surprised by it and let it simmer in your soul? I hope so for today that happened to me!
Until next time... take care, enjoy, and G-d bless.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
December 29, 2010
I've been creating new work based on poetry and I've had a blast! It's not something entirely new but it has been a long time since I've worked this way. I've developed such an intuitive way of working that at first, working from the poetry seemed unnatural but as I meditated on the words that inspired me, the work seemed to flow out of me. The work does not have the line work that my recent work has but it is more like color fields of paint. I do have some line in some of the pieces but the other works just has planes of color within it. They are similar to my nebula pieces (of which I'm creating more of them), and I am finding that they are speaking to me and really define what I'm trying to say within the work.
And exactly what am I trying to say? That is a very good question! I've been contemplating that for awhile now as in the beginning of creating these works the imagery just flowed and I did not think too much about the concept/s behind them. Now that I've created several pieces, I wish to define what it is I am doing within the studio and bring some ideas to light.
The work is definitely inspired by Mark Rothko but it does not follow him exactly. His work was tragic, by his own definition. I'm trying to bring the relationship to fruition between myself and the paint. The push and pull of the colors (sometimes analogous and sometimes complementary) many times dictates the flow of the work and how I paint. The analogous pieces are more about beauty, serenity, and space. The depth within the work draws me in and I want to stay within it for awhile. The complementary pieces are more confrontational, more agitated. They engage me in a completely different way - more of an encounter with the colors and movement within the work. And yes, this can bring negative emotions or reactions to the work but if my work is to be honest, negative as well as positive emotions and reactions are a part of life. With the work inspired by poetry, I'm not trying to illustrate the words but convey the essence of what they are saying; to portray within color and form, an experience of what I read.
I posed a question of how does an artist portray an emotion or feeling or how does one portray in a non-literal language aspects of the human experience. That challenge to artists, especially abstract artists is great for what I am trying to do within my own work is to take my thoughts, feelings, and responses to the medium and try to bring to light the essence of my experience, the creative experience. This experience is intrinsic to all humans for we all create in one way or another. An artist puts this experience on the canvas, board, sculpture, etc. and shines a light on what it is to be human.
This process really is part of what I am as a human and an artist but it is also a faith-walk for many times I am not sure of exactly what is going to come of it but I do know that if I persist, the work will come together. This comes from the many hours of studio experience but it also comes from having the faith to continue into the unknown and bring it to light within the language of color, form, texture, movement, and line. The creative moment, the time when everything comes together is wonderful but at times, the efforts imparted to bring me to the final moment can be intimidating. For working in a way that is intangible compared to working with a definite point of departure, is downright scary at times!!! The instant that I realize that I have no idea what I'm doing or where I'm going next is, at times, paralyzing!!! The happens more often that I'd like to admit but this is where the faith comes into play. I know that I have the insight (and many time that comes from G-d, not me!!!) and ability to critique what I am doing, find my way, and continue on, or begin a new direction. Once I am back on track, the work begins to flow again. Which is quite a relief!!! I also know that if I play it safe, I destined for doom within the work for everytime I hold back, don't take the risk, the work suffers and it shows so... I continuely remind myself to stay on the edge with the work and see what happens! And hopefully, the experience I have with the work will translate to the viewer.
My desire is that when someone views the work, an experience, a true moment of union occurs when they can relate in some way to the mark-making, color, and form of the pieces. It is a moment where the spirit of the viewer connects with the spirit of my creativity. This spirit to spirit communication is the ultimate desire I have as an artist - that the viewer can come away from the work enriched, encouraged, or challenged by what they see and hopefully feel. My desire from this encounter, from this experience, is 'Yes'!
Well, that's it for now... until next time, take care, enjoy, and G-d bless!!!
And exactly what am I trying to say? That is a very good question! I've been contemplating that for awhile now as in the beginning of creating these works the imagery just flowed and I did not think too much about the concept/s behind them. Now that I've created several pieces, I wish to define what it is I am doing within the studio and bring some ideas to light.
The work is definitely inspired by Mark Rothko but it does not follow him exactly. His work was tragic, by his own definition. I'm trying to bring the relationship to fruition between myself and the paint. The push and pull of the colors (sometimes analogous and sometimes complementary) many times dictates the flow of the work and how I paint. The analogous pieces are more about beauty, serenity, and space. The depth within the work draws me in and I want to stay within it for awhile. The complementary pieces are more confrontational, more agitated. They engage me in a completely different way - more of an encounter with the colors and movement within the work. And yes, this can bring negative emotions or reactions to the work but if my work is to be honest, negative as well as positive emotions and reactions are a part of life. With the work inspired by poetry, I'm not trying to illustrate the words but convey the essence of what they are saying; to portray within color and form, an experience of what I read.
I posed a question of how does an artist portray an emotion or feeling or how does one portray in a non-literal language aspects of the human experience. That challenge to artists, especially abstract artists is great for what I am trying to do within my own work is to take my thoughts, feelings, and responses to the medium and try to bring to light the essence of my experience, the creative experience. This experience is intrinsic to all humans for we all create in one way or another. An artist puts this experience on the canvas, board, sculpture, etc. and shines a light on what it is to be human.
This process really is part of what I am as a human and an artist but it is also a faith-walk for many times I am not sure of exactly what is going to come of it but I do know that if I persist, the work will come together. This comes from the many hours of studio experience but it also comes from having the faith to continue into the unknown and bring it to light within the language of color, form, texture, movement, and line. The creative moment, the time when everything comes together is wonderful but at times, the efforts imparted to bring me to the final moment can be intimidating. For working in a way that is intangible compared to working with a definite point of departure, is downright scary at times!!! The instant that I realize that I have no idea what I'm doing or where I'm going next is, at times, paralyzing!!! The happens more often that I'd like to admit but this is where the faith comes into play. I know that I have the insight (and many time that comes from G-d, not me!!!) and ability to critique what I am doing, find my way, and continue on, or begin a new direction. Once I am back on track, the work begins to flow again. Which is quite a relief!!! I also know that if I play it safe, I destined for doom within the work for everytime I hold back, don't take the risk, the work suffers and it shows so... I continuely remind myself to stay on the edge with the work and see what happens! And hopefully, the experience I have with the work will translate to the viewer.
My desire is that when someone views the work, an experience, a true moment of union occurs when they can relate in some way to the mark-making, color, and form of the pieces. It is a moment where the spirit of the viewer connects with the spirit of my creativity. This spirit to spirit communication is the ultimate desire I have as an artist - that the viewer can come away from the work enriched, encouraged, or challenged by what they see and hopefully feel. My desire from this encounter, from this experience, is 'Yes'!
Well, that's it for now... until next time, take care, enjoy, and G-d bless!!!
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