There are three concepts floating in my mind. They are: membranes (the fabric of space time), oceans (for this environment is not unlike the membranes), and visual languages… the human experience. Each time I consider how I might relate membranes to others, I am drawn back to the analogy of the ocean. Fish swimming in the ocean suck in the water, blow out the water, live out thier lives inside the body of a fluid abyss… much like we do on land. We breathe the air without thought for where it’s been or what microscopic particles may be carried into our innermost parts by the action. We walk, run, fly, kill, die, and copulate without much thought for the membrane we live in. It is alive, as surely as the ocean is alive. In fact, we know there are lakes beneath the ocean where some oceanic creatures go “fishing”.  Is the ocean a different membrane? Is the totality of our physical existence pinned to one membrane of the proposed 11 which theoretically make up the sum total? Is there no place where these membranes might fold together? If, in fact, these membranes do meet and meld… perhaps at the edges, perhaps at the black holes, it might produce some strange effects for us human beans. We might enter into a  membrane”subduction zone” within our physical reality. Really, it might explain alot of the “mysteries” humanity has recorded in anals of history. It might even make divinity a bit more comprehensible.

Now we come to the visual languages portion. I wonder what language the membrane(s) might be written in? Obviously, it is not one which is available within the limitations of human vision. Suppose every breath we take is recorded into the membrane. Every breath, every thought, every action makes an impression or a ripple. Each of these things converts energy from one form to another, so it is not only conceivable… it is wholly implied, that this is exactly the case. This would mean that any being with the ability to decode or read the membrane(s) would have access to every breath, thought, and action which ever occured, or will occur. One would have to be able to interpret the impressions of every sort of energy conversion, of course, in order to understand the impressions and ripples and such. The energy released in an massive earthquake might otherwise be confused with that of single days child birth, on a global scale.

But the membranes arent just global… they are universal. The music of the spheres is, indeed,  played on strings. My mind reaches again and again for the visual language of energies in a constant state of flux and flex. As always, I must conclude… wouldn’t that be something~!?

Rhythm

Designers and artists have a whole box full of tools. Rhythm is one of the least considered, most used. Elements are arranged in such a way as to establish a pattern. The pattern may be designed to control eye movement, or to trigger emotional response, or simply because the artist or designer had a specific tune stuck in their head. (Hey, it happens!) In fact, music and visual art share many basic design factors! The flow of piece lies in the rhythm.

Examples:

Movement: Both of the samples below share a similar rhythm, both use the rhythm to establish movement. Yet, obviously, the theme and content of these works is very different. (You may recall proximity and color relationship from previous entry?)

When you look at the piece below, make a note of where your eye wants to go… what is the first thing you see in the piece? Is there a point where your eye wants to “rest”?

It is human nature to seek out rhythm and patterns. Our brain quite naturally wants to play, “which of these things is not like the others?” at any age. The first step in that game is to associate things which are similar. Thus, the human eye bounces across similar things, in search of anything that doesn’t “belong”.

 Perspective provides the illusion of depth on a flat plane. We are provided with a very distinct idea of a large, outdoor area. The arrangement of panels recedes a good distance. We are made to feel as though we could walk through the piece. Utilizing repitition, the viewer is quite literally “told” what to expect next, and “snagged” when that pattern is disrupted. 

Yes, your perception is unique… just like everybody else’s. Yet, in nearly every moment of our daily lives, the mood and the scene is set by an artist or designer, with a specific objective in mind. Consider the arrangement of desks in an office, the color of the walls in the super market (can you recall EVER having seen the walls inside a super market?), or the “austere” or “stoic” appearance of government and judicial buildings. The purpose is to recognize the influences these things have. Why is the area around the customer service desk painted such a cool blue, yet 10 ft away is a display of childrens toys in primary colors? Perhaps so Mom is calm and the kid will be distracted? Subtle or blatant, the effects are everywhere. Those who are not prepared to recognize it, not “literate”, are not making informed choices.

What are the basic premises of visual language? The term has been virtually redefined in the computer age. Yet. basic premises still remain. To be literate is to know how to recognize not only the iconography of an alphabet, but also to have the ability to assign meaning to the strings of characters arranged on a page. The same is true of visual language. To be literate is to be able to recognize the iconography and “read” the arrangement of elements in a given piece. We know, from our first grade phonics lessons, when we see certain phonetic couplings of letters in text that a specific sound and meaning are inscribed. In this, we have learned to recognize a relationship between these letters and words. Perhaps, if you attended college and took more than a rudimentary art class, you learned to recognize spatial relationships between forms. Unless you took an advanced art class, you probably did not learn to “read” the iconography and metaphor in painting or sculpture.

So it is that few adults today realize that the visual artist or visual language composer has taken upon him/herself to quite literally control not only the movement of your eye, but to some extent even your cognitive response to the images presented. But, how, you might ask? (As well you should!)

1. Relationships: There are number of ways to manipulate your response to something by establishing relationships between forms and through the use of color. An artist can create tension, or impart placid harmony through the placement of objects or forms or through the use of color.

Let us consider our response to a small sphere cradled in a ribbon-like form. To most people, this confers a sense of nurturing, perhaps parenting, certainly safety and comfort. This is because we have mentally assigned a relationship to the two forms, whether or not we are conscious of it.  Please consider the four examples below, which all employ the same two elements. What is the relationship between the two forms in each example? This is an example of utilizing proximity to establish relationship.

It is a given that people have a cultural library of meanings which they will assign to specific colors. Red, for example… what is your immediate response to the color red? MOst of us in the west will assign three possible meanings to the color. Stop/danger, anger, and passion. A very large red painting is irritating, over time. Red excited our eyes and causes the photo receptors to fire in quick succession. It is almost impossible to ignore, even with concerted effort. The same is true of yellow, and yet yellow is generally associated with happiness… thus, we dont mind so much being in the presence of a large “sunny” canvas. We are not irritated by the presence of a big happy thing. We are likely to find our mood uplifted after 20 minutes or so.

With this in mind, look at the many ways that information is visually presented. Charts and graphs,  illustrations, headlines and photos, even forms you are asked to fill out every day of your life are carefully arranged to influence your perception.

“Nooo, NO NOOOOO!”

Frantically clicking, head bobbing like a chicken at a flea circus, I searched in vain… it was gone. Another reminder that I need to get the update installed with the desk top plug in. This is maddening.

So, today I am taking an alternate route. I hope my expansive readership won’t mind. Love Me When I’m Gone is a slideshow; spur of the moment. It is over run with cliche. It has to be… it’s about an artist’s sacrifice. But, things become cliche precisely because there is an element of truth and because the world becomes jaded. I consider them to be the equivalent of contractions, like “don’t, shouldn’t oughta.”  Truth is, the best an artist can hope for is to be worth more dead than alive. The product is rough and poorly timed, but the Lost Post was about “sacred art” and so is this… after a fashion… so to speak… sort of.

Many people associate the word art with paintings and sculptures, or perhaps performance. Art is also largely considered to be a passive luxury in our mass production society. Hand made items are more expensive to produce and own than manufactured items. The artists, themselves, are largely responsible for the shift in public perception about the passivity of art. Somewhere around the turn of the last century, artists began to become preoccupied with vain intellectualism and, truth be known, began to think of themselves in general as elitists. By the 1960’s, artists were publicly denouncing the status quo with comments like, “It’s art because I am an artist and I say it is” along with exhibitions which only inspired moral outcry (and nearly ended public funding of the arts all together in this country)

However, the word art handed down to us through the ages is a verb. By it’s very nature art is intended to actively engage, beyond the influence of communication. It is an activity which initiates change, and is intimately associated with the word ‘create’. Art, the verb, is filled with magic, metaphysics, and alchemical transformations ranging from subtle to overwhelming! Anyone having once visited with the arts of yore will attest to the very real experience of breathless wonder. Michael D’Angelo, Leonardo Da Vinci, Vincent Van Gough, Claude Monet, and Frank Loyd Wright changed people’s lives… not just thier minds. These great artists had the audacity to pull the stars down from the heavens, internalize them, and turn that luminous energy into art, the verb.

The mechanics of these activities are mysterious, indeed. Not beyond the reach of anyone who aspires to it, but the artist is a rare creature who selflessly dedicates a lifetime to this pursuit. It is not an easy path, but for some, the rewards outweigh the hardships. This is the price of self Mastery, the pre-requisite to mastery of any and all mediums. It is an honorable undertaking which requires hard work, humility, meager sustenance, and above all… love. This is why artists were admired and revered.

In a November American Journalism Review article, Philip Meyer states,

“After 1990, of course, the effects of the Internet kicked in. When writing “The Vanishing Newspaper,” I underestimated the velocity of the Internet effect. It is now clear that it is as disruptive to today’s newspapers as Gutenberg’s invention of movable type was to the town criers, the journalists of the 15th century. ”

(Philip Meyer is professor emeritus in Journalism at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill )

The article, and the book, suggest  “A smaller, less frequently published version packed with analysis and investigative reporting and aimed at well-educated news junkies that may well be a smart survival strategy for the beleaguered old print product. “

This target audience seems to me to be the very definition of today’s blogger.

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From the New York Times:

The Guggenheim’s exhibition “theanyspacewhatever” aims to resensitize people to their everyday surroundings and, moreover, to one another.

The Guggenheim’s exhibition “theanyspacewhatever”

Can there be any doubt that technology is desensitizing humanity? As we become more and more accustomed to our “remote media interface” with war, natural catastrophe, and disasters of all kinds; perhaps we are better informed of these events, perhaps not. What may be lost in translation is the emotional response that makes us human… compassion.

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Quantum Fields

I went looking for a 21st century art movement. I was not surprised when I found very little that could be classified as a movement, along with many painters attempting to start their own.

Movements in art are highly misunderstood, in general. A movement is likely to incorporate principles of philosophy, and most certainly extends across artistic genres, encompassing literary and theatrical aspects, as well as visual arts. Movements are typically socially and culturally motivated, often with political undertones or influences. Most artistic movements are better described as a consciousness emergence which extends beyond localized group investigations. Furthermore, very few artists of any given movement were purposely participating or aware that history would deem said movement “significant.”  In truth, the significance of any movement is most often determined in hind sight, with only a few rare and intuitive individuals realizing the importance in the midst of the glow.

Impressionism, cubism, dadaism, to name but a few, are all respected movements attributed and collectively assigned to a mere handful of the artists who worked and investigated within the social and philosphical emergence of these respective movements. Impressionism and cubism are inexorably linked to scientific discoveries of the time (though the artists themselves were as unaware of the work of the scientists and the scientists were of the artists), while dadaism was born of philosophy and shifting social attitudes with regard to the “status quo”.

We are reminded art imitates life, life imititates art, when we survey the creative landscape for “significant” features. Significance is not defined by popularity, though popularity often follows. In the 21st century, as in the 2oth century, we can expect emerging technologies to have significant social, cultural and creative influences. We can expect the radically shifting paradigms of global consciousness to significantly influence our human experience and to manifest in the arts. We can excpect the internet to be the medium through which these influences are conveyed, because a global voice will require a global ear.