UNDERSTANDING ABSTRACT ART #84

“Rejoice” (Satsang Series)

 (Acrylic) 

Size:  90x120cm

THE IDEA BEHIND THE PAINTING:

People often think that meditation is sitting like a statue of Buddha.  While sitting is a training for meditation, meditation is really a lifelong discipline and one cannot sit like Buddha all your life.  Life goes on... and on.  Meditation is being aware in the Now.  Sitting like Buddha is a device to train one in meditation.  Meditation is a discipline of life.

There are many different ways of teaching meditation and some people may not agree with what I say nevertheless this is my knowing of meditation.  I was fortunate to spend time in India where meditation is a major focus.  There are probably many other readers who have spent a life time in monasteries and ashrams and have different approaches.  However we all have to follow our own truth.  My truth is being present in the Now and stilling the mind.  This is my meditation where I can function in life in awareness and stillness.

There are many devices to facilitate one to get a “taste” of meditation, but the end result is paradoxically, very simple but difficult to achieve as are most profound truths. 

On a continuum, the Western world functions at the far extreme from what would be regarded as a meditative life.  The West likes to think, think and think.  There is very little heart activity – it is all in the head.  The internet feeds this obsession.  But who knows, this obsession may in itself lead to meditation.  Computer scientist, Jaron Lanier is a pioneer in the development of virtual reality and a Silicon Valley veteran.  He raises provocative questions regarding consciousness.  Here is an excerpt from his book “You are not a Gadget” (2010).   

“You can propose that consciousness is an illusion, but by definition consciousness is the one thing that isn’t reduced if it is an illusion.

There’s a way that consciousness and time are bound together.  If you try to remove any potential hint of mysteriousness from consciousness you end up mystifying time in an absurd way.

Consciousness is situated in time, because you can’t experience a lack of time, and you can’t experience the future.  If consciousness isn’t anything but a false thought in the computer that is your brain, or the universe, then what exactly is it that is situated in time?  The present moment, the only other thing that could be situated in time, must in that case be a freestanding object, independent of the way it is experienced.

The present moment is a rough concept, from a scientific point of view, because of relativity and the latency of thoughts moving in the brain.    We have no means of defining either a single global physical present moment or a precise cognitive present moment.  Nonetheless, there must be some anchor, perhaps a very fuzzy one, somewhere, somehow, for it to be possible to even speak of it.

Maybe you could imagine the present moment as a metaphysical marker travelling through a timeless version of reality, in which the past and the future are already frozen in place, like a recording head moving across a hard disk...”.  (from “You are not a Gadget” by Jaron Lanier, p.42, 43).

He goes on to articulate his experience when he is in a fully realized immersive virtual reality experiment.  “The body and the rest of reality no longer have a prescribed boundary.  So what are you at this point?  You are floating in there, as a centre of experience.  You notice you exist, because what else could be going on?  I think of Virtual Reality as a consciousness-noticing machine”.  (from “You are not a Gadget” by Jaron Lanier, p.187).

Wow!  We are on the verge of a new world and I am here for the ride – not to make predictions.

“Rejoice” represents my focus of experience where thoughts (which are shown as undefined shapes) float in the rose coloured sea of my consciousness.  I observe them without judgement and let them go.  Thoughts are a natural phenomenon.  Eventually the mind stills.  That does not mean I don’t think.  Of course when I have to complete a task my mind is focused on the task.  That is natural.  It’s the conscious awareness that is important.

Art Techniques used to achieve this:

The genre of this painting is Spiritual (or perhaps even Esoteric).  In Western art history, the Religious genre in paintings took up a vast swath from early Christianity until the philosophical period called the Enlightenment.

(not to be confused with the word Enlightenment used in meditation.).  Religious paintings were used by the early Christian church as a form of educational propaganda when most of the masses were illiterate.  In India, Hindu painting and sculpture are still richly appreciated and hold a central position in the Indian ethos.  Buddhist art is celebrated as strongly today as in past times in parts of S.E. Asia and India.  However religious, spiritual and esoteric art in the Western world tends to be almost nonexistent today.

The style of “Rejoice” is abstract expressionism.  Its composition is not complex but arbitrary.  The overall  painting is balanced with no major points of focus.  This gives a sense of timelessness.  It’s form is flat with a sense of space. The tone is low.  The palette is complimentary – red and green.  The rosiness of the predominant colour echos the uplifting meaning of its title.   The painting is not signed and can be hung any way.  The title is relevant to the subject.

http://www.buderimartstudio.com 

UNDERSTANDING ABSTRACT ART #83

“Rejuvenation” (Satsang Series)

 (Acrylic) 

Size:  90x120cm

THE IDEA BEHIND THE PAINTING:

A friend used these words to describe my art: “You make it possible for others to reach their subconscious in such an enlightening and yet gentle, whispering way – you embed images of life, love, hope and beauty in their psyches”.  It is always gratifying when someone reflects back to you just what you are trying to achieve – particularly when the concept is not being conveyed in words such as in the case of paintings.

Art making is a life’s work and in fact one’s life becomes the work of art.  This week I had the good fortune to see one of Australia’s top artists being interviewed during the Noosa Long Weekend Festival.  The artist is Michael Leunig.  I call him an artist and also a National Treasure.  However some would call him a cartoonist.  Nevertheless Leunig has been able to convey a “naive wisdom” through his cartoons a bit like Charlie Chaplin conveyed “naive wisdom” through his humour and acting ability.

During the course of the interview, Leunig commented that sadly older artists in Australia are not very well received.  I would agree with what he is saying.  Painting, unlike sport, is an activity that generally improves with age.  Artists like Monet and Olley are such examples.  It takes a life time to be able to call yourself an artist, but when you get to the end of your life, marketing principles that are currently employed in this economic milieu do not see maturity as a viable asset (because the older artist no longer looks good and nor do they have not the productivity expectation that a younger artist would have).  Therefore it is really gratifying when a viewer is congruent with an artist, as was my friend was with me.  A painting may also take years to complete but the viewer often only takes a minute or two to make a snap judgement on that art work.

“Rejuvenation” is one of the last of the Satsang Series.  It was painted after I returned from India.  The Satsang Series is about meditation, however this painting and its twin, “Rejoice” were painted at a time when I was also becoming concerned with environmental issues.  Both paintings reflect a transition period in my art career.  Later my focus for painting changed to being less esoteric. 

Art Techniques used to achieve this:

The genre for “Rejuvenation” is Spiritual (not Religious).  It is part of the Satsang Series and could perhaps be described as Esoteric.  The Satsang Series is about stillness.  Each painting in the series represents meditation.  Meditation has been practiced in the East for thousands of years.  It is a type of spiritual philosophy which is part of the process of living and operates around the concept of “being” with a focus on the Now. The Western world is more involved with a conference of ideas and a concept of “doing” and its focus is on the future.

“Rejuvenation” is a meditation in which thoughts move in and out of consciousness and are observed with no judgement.  This brings about a sense of timelessness.

I do not sign my paintings for two reasons.  Firstly because by signing I am indicating which way the painting should be hung.  In this series I have purposely made the composition balanced from all sides, so it is up to the viewer to decide which way they like it.  Secondly, by signing an art piece, I put my “stamp” on it thus stating ownership.  This series is not about ownership but is depicting just “being in the Now”.  Therefore it can be said that its composition is fairly arbitrary but intuitively balanced.

Its form is two dimensional – no attempt at perspective. Its colour palette is complimentary ie. orange and blue.

Next week I will discuss “Rejoice” which is the twin to “Rejuvenation”.  They are not a diptych but both are similar in that they represent a transitory stage in my art and the close of the Satsang Series. 

http://www.buderimartstudio.com 

UNDERSTANDING ABSTRACT ART #76

“Thoughts Moving in Consciousness #2”

Satsang Series

Acrylic and Ink on handmade paper

104x70cm  (unframed)

ABOUT THIS PAINTING:

 If there has been one single thing that I have learnt over my life it is that I am happiest when I am in the Now.  It has taken a long time to train myself to be thus.  This does not mean that I don’t remember the past, it is simply that I have no need to dwell on particular past events.  Also if I feel uneasy about something (cognitive dissidence) I can readily trace the source of this unease. This does not mean that my mind is in a bliss-like trance, but rather that my mind is not active until it has to respond to something.  It’s a little like a car which is idling until it is put into gear and the accelerator activated.  

It is quite natural for a human to have thoughts.  A meditative life is when one is consciously aware of those thoughts.  This state of being is what this painting is trying to portray to the viewer.

It was painted when I was visiting an ashram in India.  “Ashram” is an Indian word for a spiritual retreat centre.  There are many different types of ashrams in India and many are affiliated with different teachings and practices for personal and spiritual growth.  The particular ashram where I was staying was not tied to any particular religion and focused on meditation.   (Meditation is not a religion but is a discipline for focused awareness).  The arts (dance, music, painting etc) were encouraged.  There were a couple of art studios in the ashram and that is where I did this painting. 

Artistic techniques used in this painting:

 This painting falls into the category of genre painting.  A genre painting is a painting that is outside of portraiture, history painting or landscape.  It generally is a category for ordinary subjects.  The subject of this painting is the experience of meditation.

The style is abstract.  Many of my paintings could be called Abstract Expressionism and I would class this one in that category.  I find that this style readily lends itself to the abstract meaning behind the painting because the painting is more about the experience of meditation than the concept of meditation.

The title refers to the meditative process where thoughts move in and out of consciousness.  The ink marks splattered randomly at intervals onto the paper represent those thoughts that interrupt the constancy of a still mind – this is what meditation is all about.

The colour is predominantly red-orange which in this case represents high energy and passion (not sexual passion).  It is in a heightened awareness that one attains enlightenment.

The tone of the painting is low without very much contrast. 

This painting is one of the Satsang Series.  Two other paintings in this series are discussed in posts #33 and #66.  They were all painted at the ashram.

It is hoped that these paintings bring people to a better understanding of what meditation is about.

http://www.buderimartstudio.com 

UNDERSTANDING ABSTRACT ART #66

“Thoughts Moving in Consciousness #3” 

 Satsang Series 

(Acrylic and Ink on handmade paper) 

Size:  70x104cm (unframed)

THE IDEA BEHIND THE PAINTING:

“By drawing a diagram, a ground plan of a house, a street plan to the location of a site, or a topographic map, one draws a ‘logical two dimensional picture.  A ‘logical picture’ differs from a natural or realistic picture in that it rarely looks like the thing it stands for.”  This statement was from Robert Smithson’s “The Collected Writings”.

(“Smithson is most well known American artist/sculptor noted for his provocative earthwork, the “Spiral Jetty” made in 1970. He gained international recognition for his groundbreaking art which was not limited by genre or materials as well as for his critical writings that challenged traditional categories of art between the years of 1964-1973. His art and writings have had a profound impact on sculpture and art theory for over thirty years.”)  See website http://www.robertsmithson.com/introduction/introduction.htm for more on Smithson where I sourced the above bracketed paragraph.

Although Smithson’s approach to art making is entirely different to mine, the above statement by him, could be applied to my abstract art and gives people another way of looking at abstract art.  Generally people never question what a map represents though when they are faced with abstract art they often search for some identifiable image within the picture.  In my blog Understanding Abstract Art, I aim to educate the general public in how to “see” this particular art form and to appreciate it for what it is.   In my painting “Thoughts Moving in Consciousness #3” shown above, I could have easily made the shapes within this painting to represent the human form.  However I resisted from doing this because the overall meaning of this painting (and series) was an attempt to express what was happening for me in meditation.  The fact that viewers can “see” people in this picture is of no concern to me the painter, nor was it intended to represent anything to do with the human figure.  I am painting an abstract concept and trying to express it in a way that is visual.  The title gives the viewer a clue to what it is about.

Art Techniques used to achieve this:

The invisible fire of meditation is represented by the orange/red.  Its complimentary opposite is blue.  These blue marks represent my thoughts as they come into my consciousness during meditation.  Ink is a particularly vibrant medium and has a transparent quality, whereas acrylic is generally opaque.  Contrast in media creates interest for the viewer.

The composition has a vertical emphasis but there is also a diagonal emphasis in the four dots running from upper right to lower left.  These opposing thrusts create an equivocal (subliminal) message because verticals and horizontals tend to suggest a sense of order and balance, whereas diagonals suggest tension and drama.  Meditation is a state of being where the mind is balanced and empty.  When thoughts enter consciousness, they interfere with this state. 

A good way of ensuring a painting is balanced is to turn it upside down.  This change in visual perception makes any incongruity obvious.

 Another way to discern whether a painting is balanced is to view it in a mirror.  In my opinion if a painting satisfies the basis parameters of balance and colour harmony, then it is not necessary for it to represent an identifiable image.  If I had developed the marks in this painting so that they represented people, the painting would still be balanced and the colours harmonious, but the meaning would be changed.  However I am trying to convey the abstract concept of meditation, and in this respect I feel that I have achieved this.  Just like a map, abstract art conveys a concept or idea in a different way to that of words.  It is a visual communication of an abstract concept.   

What do you, the viewer, think?

http://www.buderimartstudio.com