What is that inner voice that tells you if you like or don't like something? I mean the aesthetic quality of things, like when you look at a painting and like it or don't like it; what is that? I know as far as my own work goes I can look at the painting or drawing I am working on and immediately decide what I like and what I want to change. But where does that voice come from? What particular quality of a line, shape, or color hue makes it pleasing to my eye? Maybe words of wisdom from psychologist Carl Jung can shed some light on the subject:
I can identify with this idea in my work. A striving towards the 'collective unconscious'; the collected experience of generations of humankind. In the depths of each of us we are connected, and we are all the same. In creating and sharing my experiences and my art I realize this is true. In my non-representational artwork and style in general, I naturally strive towards expressing universal archetypes, symbols, form, color, meshed with my individual developed style. I purposefully steer away from having too much intention in my work, instead relying on that voice that 'knows' or feels rather what line, what form goes where. Maybe that is what that voice, that way of knowing, that 'style' is; a seeking of that universal understanding and system of processing and recognition, striving for the expression of the collective unconscious.
That is kind of any oxymoron though right? - Intending to express the unconscious in my work. How does one exactly approach that method of creation? How do you get to that release of direct conscious intention, and access that underlying unconscious reality? If you look at the work and methods of abstract expressionist Jackson Pollack I think we find at least some kind of answer. Take his famous 'drip' painting method, or what some call 'action painting' for example. His process of standing over the canvas and moving in it, gesturing with the arms to drip and fling the paint onto the surface below. In the attention paid to the action in the work, there opens up a place for that deeper underlying intention to come through.
But that is only one method of accessing the unconscious. Luckily for us there is a myriad of experiences waiting to be expressed and shared. More ways of experiencing ourselves subjectively and therefore universally. Each of our experiences on this planet is unique, but great artwork expresses something deeply universal in all of us. It's that pulling towards universal understanding and expression that guides my work. Not to say that my work is great, but i try!
"This re-immersion in the state of participation mystique is the secret of artistic creation and of the effect which great art has upon us, for at that level of experience it is no longer the weal or woe of the individual that counts, but the life of the collective. That is why every great work of art is objective and impersonal, and yet profoundly moving." - Carl Jung
I can identify with this idea in my work. A striving towards the 'collective unconscious'; the collected experience of generations of humankind. In the depths of each of us we are connected, and we are all the same. In creating and sharing my experiences and my art I realize this is true. In my non-representational artwork and style in general, I naturally strive towards expressing universal archetypes, symbols, form, color, meshed with my individual developed style. I purposefully steer away from having too much intention in my work, instead relying on that voice that 'knows' or feels rather what line, what form goes where. Maybe that is what that voice, that way of knowing, that 'style' is; a seeking of that universal understanding and system of processing and recognition, striving for the expression of the collective unconscious.
That is kind of any oxymoron though right? - Intending to express the unconscious in my work. How does one exactly approach that method of creation? How do you get to that release of direct conscious intention, and access that underlying unconscious reality? If you look at the work and methods of abstract expressionist Jackson Pollack I think we find at least some kind of answer. Take his famous 'drip' painting method, or what some call 'action painting' for example. His process of standing over the canvas and moving in it, gesturing with the arms to drip and fling the paint onto the surface below. In the attention paid to the action in the work, there opens up a place for that deeper underlying intention to come through.
"The painting has a life of its own. I try to let it come through." - Jackson Pollock
But that is only one method of accessing the unconscious. Luckily for us there is a myriad of experiences waiting to be expressed and shared. More ways of experiencing ourselves subjectively and therefore universally. Each of our experiences on this planet is unique, but great artwork expresses something deeply universal in all of us. It's that pulling towards universal understanding and expression that guides my work. Not to say that my work is great, but i try!
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2 comments:
Ed
Interesting post! I am impressed that you know what to do immediately with your paintings. For me, it is often a struggle - I usually know something is amiss (and it usually is!) but it often takes a long time to figure out what to change. Your inner voice that is guiding you sounds like it speaks strongly to you - a gift.
How to tap into the inner resources from which the art arises is the key question you raise and it's a profound one. Interestingly enough, this is the focus that my wife, a full time painter, has taken in her career over the last few years. She teaches classes and workshops on this very topic - she used to teach technique workshops but her own passion is about creativity and it's sources. She developed a series of classes combining meditation, music, movement, etc along with painting to better access the wellspring you refer to.
Check this out on her website: http://www.imaginewithart.com.
It's a great topic to contemplate and I'm sure it infuses all of your work in a positive way!
Wow, thanks for the nice compliments Bob. I checked out that site of your wife's and the blog too. Very cool, a lot of stuff I deal with also like you say. Is that your guys' dog in some of the photos? He is cute, what's his name?
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