Tuesday, September 13, 2005
Wednesday, September 07, 2005
Art and Madness
Art and madness, need they go hand in hand for greatness to exist?
Is this the question we should be asking? Is it in fact madness or is it just a vision from a different perspective?
Naturally, most people would say Vincent Van Gogh was nuts. I do not know that I would concur. I never met him. Certainly, he had behaviours that would have most of us institutionalized, even in today's society.
I often wonder if one must experience great pain in order to experience and visually articulate great beauty or bliss. Vincent, in his letters to his brother, Theo, expressed his many frustrations with society, the way of the world, and with the art community; nonetheless, he learned and progressed. As a painter, he learned to articulate volumes in the application of one stroke of ink or paint. Can a person be "crazy" yet able to capture the truth of so much through his work?
Perhaps I will offer that Vincent did everything right. He left us with a collection of some of the most wonderful paintings and drawings of the last half of the nineteenth century. If he were a different man in any regard, he would not have left us with this incomparable legacy.
If I were Vincent's friend, I would say, "Vincent, I'm concerned with your well-being. What would make you happy?" I wonder what his answer would be and if he did get what would have made him happy would his work have changed - would it have lost the singular thing that makes it great? I sure wish I knew. It does make me think of who I am and how my work is made and what forms of nature within and without me bring about my work.
Perhaps I could be a happier person, perhaps I could be more "normal" and perhaps I would not have created the works I feel have merit. I think we can only take our learned skills as artists, meld them with our natural talent and desire, and add the experience and genetics that make up who we are and then, create art. Work from who you are (your truth). Work from what you know. LEARN. I hope I will find success in this and I hope that any madness in me is just enough to render me brilliant.
Thank you, Vincent, for all you have taught me.
Is this the question we should be asking? Is it in fact madness or is it just a vision from a different perspective?
Naturally, most people would say Vincent Van Gogh was nuts. I do not know that I would concur. I never met him. Certainly, he had behaviours that would have most of us institutionalized, even in today's society.
I often wonder if one must experience great pain in order to experience and visually articulate great beauty or bliss. Vincent, in his letters to his brother, Theo, expressed his many frustrations with society, the way of the world, and with the art community; nonetheless, he learned and progressed. As a painter, he learned to articulate volumes in the application of one stroke of ink or paint. Can a person be "crazy" yet able to capture the truth of so much through his work?
Perhaps I will offer that Vincent did everything right. He left us with a collection of some of the most wonderful paintings and drawings of the last half of the nineteenth century. If he were a different man in any regard, he would not have left us with this incomparable legacy.
If I were Vincent's friend, I would say, "Vincent, I'm concerned with your well-being. What would make you happy?" I wonder what his answer would be and if he did get what would have made him happy would his work have changed - would it have lost the singular thing that makes it great? I sure wish I knew. It does make me think of who I am and how my work is made and what forms of nature within and without me bring about my work.
Perhaps I could be a happier person, perhaps I could be more "normal" and perhaps I would not have created the works I feel have merit. I think we can only take our learned skills as artists, meld them with our natural talent and desire, and add the experience and genetics that make up who we are and then, create art. Work from who you are (your truth). Work from what you know. LEARN. I hope I will find success in this and I hope that any madness in me is just enough to render me brilliant.
Thank you, Vincent, for all you have taught me.
Sunday, August 28, 2005
"GOOD ART"
"Good Art" - Here is a phrase as contentious a subject as religion or politics.
Neophytes who rant about art, having never studied it, are a source of frustration to me. Visual art, as any subject, requires extensive study to be understood and, as with any major field, it has so many branches and types that one could never 'finish' learning.
To have a base knowledge of visual art, one must study at least some of the history, gain a comprehension of the elements of design, learn a variety of media and techniques, gain a base understanding of science, physics, geometry and mathematics, and, most importantly, one must learn to take the time to see. One must view art as it exists everywhere naturally and as it is when manufactured through a unique human viewpoint.
Please remember, next time you are in front of a piece of art, contemporary or otherwise, while you may find it visually appealing or repulsive, you may benefit from learning what led to the creation of the piece before you are able to pass intelligent judgement on its validity as an art object.
Neophytes who rant about art, having never studied it, are a source of frustration to me. Visual art, as any subject, requires extensive study to be understood and, as with any major field, it has so many branches and types that one could never 'finish' learning.
To have a base knowledge of visual art, one must study at least some of the history, gain a comprehension of the elements of design, learn a variety of media and techniques, gain a base understanding of science, physics, geometry and mathematics, and, most importantly, one must learn to take the time to see. One must view art as it exists everywhere naturally and as it is when manufactured through a unique human viewpoint.
Please remember, next time you are in front of a piece of art, contemporary or otherwise, while you may find it visually appealing or repulsive, you may benefit from learning what led to the creation of the piece before you are able to pass intelligent judgement on its validity as an art object.
Thursday, August 25, 2005
Summer Images
This is a shot from my old home - Salt Spring Island, B.C.The island is a cross between hippy and yuppie culture.
Some call it Hollywood North as many Americans from the film industry have decided to call Salt Spring home.
Some call it Hollywood North as many Americans from the film industry have decided to call Salt Spring home.
I took this on the way back to Victoria from Salt Spring - Jesus rays and all!Thursday, August 18, 2005
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
Art is Everywhere
These are a few of the moments from my walk to the beach at Mount Douglas Park this morning. I hope you can gain a sense of the sweetness of my day.
Beach at Mount Douglas Park
Leaf on driftwood
Rocks and Mother of Pearl
in a stream to the ocean
In the forest on the way to the beach
Art is everywhere.
In nature you needn't stand on your head to see it
...but sometimes it helps.
...but sometimes it helps.
Sunday, August 14, 2005
Tuesday, August 09, 2005
Twosday - August 9, 2005 - Funny Phone?
Is being funny an art or a craft?
Depending on who's being funny it can definitely be just a small craft - a virtual peddle boat's worth of amusement. I wonder if I am in fact funny or just nuts - suppose it doesn't matter really.
Making people laugh is a form of medicine. I definitely don't need to "beak" at you on the restorative powers of laughter. Though being gorped at by someone who thinks they're funny, someone who's actually not funny at all, is pretty much like being pecked to death by a duck.
One does wonder about the physical and emotional state of the comic though. Are we really all crying on the inside or is that just because we are never getting paid for our ...Art ...Craft ...thingy?
I think walking around with a banana as a phone has become re-funny with the invention and popularity of the cell phone. I still want to get one of those Fisher Price giant plastic phones for the car - I think those phones were on wheels actually so, ahhh, who needs the car.
Let's make giant phones that you can drive instead of really small phones for giant cars.
I gotta go, my car's ringing....
Depending on who's being funny it can definitely be just a small craft - a virtual peddle boat's worth of amusement. I wonder if I am in fact funny or just nuts - suppose it doesn't matter really.
Making people laugh is a form of medicine. I definitely don't need to "beak" at you on the restorative powers of laughter. Though being gorped at by someone who thinks they're funny, someone who's actually not funny at all, is pretty much like being pecked to death by a duck.
One does wonder about the physical and emotional state of the comic though. Are we really all crying on the inside or is that just because we are never getting paid for our ...Art ...Craft ...thingy?
I think walking around with a banana as a phone has become re-funny with the invention and popularity of the cell phone. I still want to get one of those Fisher Price giant plastic phones for the car - I think those phones were on wheels actually so, ahhh, who needs the car.
Let's make giant phones that you can drive instead of really small phones for giant cars.
I gotta go, my car's ringing....
Sunday, August 07, 2005
At Luminara, July 2005
This is a shot I took at Luminara a couple of weeks ago here in Victoria. Luminara is a lantern festival but I don't think there is any particular reason we have the festival except to make the lanterns and go to look at them - no spiritual conotations, no sacrifices, just good old-fashioned fun. Anyway, this one represented a floating village and I thought for sure it won out as the coolest exhibit there.
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