A Declaration
My work is not………..
1a demonstration of virtuosity of any kind
2the carrier of any message whatsoever
3an attempt to appease
4an attempt to please
5the result of any intent(ion)
6directed in any way
7an expression………of ego
8an expression of any need
My work is, however,…..
1The result of the repetition of simple processes many times.
2A collection of snapshots of various points in a process.
3The result of many choices, using random numbers to select solutions from lists of possibilities.
4A vessel which contains the essence of all of the information which was put in it.
5A journey completed – i.e. fully resolved.
6A strong indication that painting still has much unexplored ground to cover.
7A strong indication that painting would benefit from a long hard look into its function and its methods
of production to make it more useful to the times in which we are now living
8A strong indication that all of the ‘art’ disciplines would benefit from a long hard look into their
function and methods of production to make them more useful to the times in which we are now living.
9Evidence of the possibility of making interesting and powerful work that is free of the dictates of
taste and intention.
10Evidence of the value of deep process and sheer hard work.
A Riddle
Traditionally painting is about 2 dimensional composition
_ however paintings are in fact three dimensional objects that can only represent two dimensionality………..
When a group work (a single work spread over multiple canvasses) is hung on different walls, the energy field that
is generated is three dimensional, so now we have a group of three dimensional objects occupying three dimensional
space _
are they then sculpture??
should each element be hung in different rooms, or different buildings or even different countries, a temporal
dimension is introduced in that it takes time to get round to see them all _ so we now have a group of three dimensional objects
occupying four dimensional space _
are they then music??
The Rothko Room (Tate Britain 1983)
When i lived in London in the eighties and nineties I spent a great deal of time in the Rothko room in the Tate gallery (what is now “Tate Britain”)_ I happened across it some years earlier and was astonished, when i pushed through the heavy red curtain across the door, to find a space that was dim like twilight and had the feel of walking into a cathedral (the other rooms were all brightly lit and the doors were openings that gave enticing views of the adjoining rooms………)
I sat down on the single seat in the middle and when my eyes slowly got used to the light I could vaguely see some very large dark canvasses hanging on the walls……I was content to remain seated (it was a weekday so I was completely alone) absorbing the calm of the space until I was ejected by the security guards at the end of that and the next several days (I returned every day for several weeks) _ it was only after a month that I finally looked closely at these amazing works although I felt that I already knew them well ……. what i found on close inspection would fill a book, but suffice it to say I found the answer to the vexing question of what could be a new and more fitting function for painting in the 21st century.
Simon Schama put the spirit of Rothko best in the summing up at the end of the documentary he made about these works (after, that is, they had been moved to a new (not quite so mysterious) space in Tate Modern).
“…………….they (Rothko’s works) are a gateway to the place where only art can take us, far away from the buzzing static of the moment and towards the music of the spheres”
Can anything be less cool than this room in the heart of Tate modern? Further away from the razzle dazzle of contemporary art, the frantic hustle of now?
This is not about now. This is about forever!
This is a place where you come to sit in the low light and feel the aeons rolling by; to be taken towards the gates that open onto the threshold of eternity; to feel the poignancy of our comings and goings, our entrances and exits, our births and our deathswomb – tomb and everything between!
Can Art ever be more complete, more powerful?I don’t think so!”
A New Purpose
Painting of the spirit instead of the intellect _ archaeology painting _ made in layers _ one a day _ making them the carriers of “history”
I realised that by using chance as the driver ALL choices are effectively represented _ those that are not actually physically present appear as potential energy as they “could” have been chosen and those that are as kinetic energy interacting with the “potential” gaps _ an energy is generated that is felt rather than seen and so these works are in effect not painting at all in the normally accepted sense as they function more as generators of atmosphere and as meditation fields.
When the same method and structuring is applied to the hanging of the work, the term exhibition is given another level of understanding _ the wall becomes the canvas on which the paintings are the marks …..
This scale layering has an infinite potential _ geography is the next step _ an exhibition is
spread over multiple venues or a multiple work is constructed _ one part of the group is hung in New York, another in London, another in Sydney _ the energy field generated by the whole will embrace all of the space in between creating metaphysical pathways and networks of communication between the various parts of the work.
Each single member of each group will carry the potential energy of the whole and so a geographical link is formed between the various rooms _ the works within each group will interact with the kinetic energy of those “related” works that are present in the same room as well as with the potential energy of those that are not.
These metaphysical pathways can, according to certain implications of chaos theory, be (subliminally) felt but not seen.
It is only necessary that works within such a system can function freely as vehicles for those energies _ a phenomenon that cannot be measured AND that those who view the works are actually open to such possibilities, for there to be created a network of communication that is independent of all but the works themselves.
The work is then free to communicate its essence without the burden of having to be the carrier of any message and free of the restrictions of language.
The roots of this thought are further strengthened by current developments in chaos science wherein experiments have been carried out that would suggest that particles (of matter) seem to demonstrate a sort of “conciousness” and seem to be able to “communicate”, via a sort of telepathy, instantaneously no matter how far apart they might be!
A Light Experiment
A beam of light is projected onto a board with two holes in it, the refracted light will always follow the same pathways _ when one of the holes is covered one pattern is formed, when another another and when both are open yet another _ if one or other of the holes is covered there are certain areas on the backboard where the light never falls.
When this experiment was repeated with a single photon fired at either of the holes, the photon always “knew” whether the other hole was open or not and behaved accordingly _ this was tested by many repetitions of the experiment!
the single photon behaved in exactly the same way as the beam of light. How did it know?
electron pairs
Electron pairs are always of opposite polarity _ one positive and one negative _ when they are separated in a particle experiment they fly off in different directions at immense speeds. However, if the polarity of one is changed somehow _ the partner will always “know” of this change and will also change and even if the two electrons are millions of miles apart this change is always simultaneous! How do they know?
Coomeraswamy, an Indian art critic wrote:
“The function of Art is to imitate nature in her manner of operation”
Taken at face value this was very hard to swallow for someone who was in the process of abandoning nature as a source of inspiration but ultimately it was this very thought that allowed me to close my eyes to nature whilest at the same time opening my mind and heart to her.
In her manner of operation, simply means, naturally evolving and growing according to the patterns of no pattern in chaos…….
A brief illustration of the use of ‘chance’ as an organising principle
“A Chance Reading” through a text will provide a series of words and letters which can then be translated into numbers and those numbers are turned into binary code. This binary sequence becomes the engine for all the decisions related to the work at hand and is used as a sequence of on off switches or as a series of yes/no answers to a set of pre-organised questions
In this way, the pure essence = abstraction of the source material, is (metaphysically) woven into every single detail of that which follows, thereby assuring an omnipresent link back to the source.
Once ‘chosen’, each element is subjected to a process of refining and polishing until it can stand alone as an independent unit.
Finally, all of the elements are assembled in layers making a whole that is always organic, i.e. always capable of being adapted to any set of circumstances.
Rigour
The analysis and thorough investigation of the source requires a lot of time and energy _ but it is only through this effort that the generation of the material which provides the various building blocks for the resultant work _ that is itself simply a snapshot of a moment in the process _ is possible.
It is not possible to cut corners or skip details without that fact being communicated in the resultant works. In this respect chance is a hard task master, but ultimately one that rewards the effort proportionally, and is, therefore, a very fair one.
The quality of the end result is wholly dependant on and proportional to the amount of energy that is given in so it is very important to pay strict attention to every tiny detail.
Lesson One
In the mid – to – late sixties there was an exhibition of “abstract” paintings by unknown or unnamed artists that received glowing praise from the critics …… after the fuss had died down it was announced (made public) that in actual fact the paintings had been made by a group of chimpanzees in an interaction experiment and immediately the critics all retracted their praise howling that they had been tricked ……I saw the paintings in a magazine and they were in fact very interesting.
I learned from this that it is too often the case that critics, far from being the experts that they seem to be, are actually no better qualified than any other pair of eyes. What they write is too often simply their “opinions” which are at best driven by their “taste” or at worst by the fee they receive and ultimately they have really no more value than any other “opinion”.
In this situation the paintings themselves (which should be the focus of the “criticism”) did, in my “opinion”, deserve the praise that they were initially given and had those “important” critics had the courage of their convictions they would have (a) not needed to be embarrassed and (b) could have analysed the paintings and thereby earned my deep respect for their clarity and honesty.
But then again I might also have believed the praise that I received whilst painting landscapes and portraits and simply continued to do so and got locked in my apprenticeship – thank heavens for human frailty!
Lesson Two
I was told a story in the eighties by an American I met in London. Her brother, who was a painter, worked in a major museum (in Chicago) and was given the task of hanging an important international exhibition with a crew of helpers.
In this process he included one of his own works (labelled and suitably framed etc) and this small work received lavish praise from an “important” critic who admitted (to be fair) that although he had never heard of the artist, he found the work to be very strong.
Through this unexpected attention it of course caused a stir and when it came to light who the “culprit” was he was dismissed in disgrace, his work was removed from the show and he was thereafter completely marginalised by galleries and critics alike despite the apparent strength of his work so that he was forced to give up!
This is a useful illustration of the power of whispers and an early example of the misuse of networks
This tale suggests that the quality of the work itself is irrelevant to this particular breed of “expert”! Much more important are the connections (but only within the market) of the artist himself – “the cult of personality” as Roland Barthes aptly puts it.
My initial rose tinted and naive belief in “Art” as it was portrayed by the market, through such critics, and experts, was destroyed forever and in its place grew a determination to put the work above all other considerations and to speak out such heresies as:
“Relatively speaking, Vincent Van Gogh was actually quite lucky in that he was able (through the untiring support of his brother) to devote all (or at least most) of his time to the development of his work, the opposite picture to that of the poor struggling Vincent popularised by the marketplace myth whose blatantly obvious motive is to be able to continue to sell his work, and that of others, at ludicrously inflated prices”
An Interesting Quote
“Those studying CHAOTIC DYNAMICS DISCOVERED that the disorderly behaviour of simple systems acted as a CREATIVE PROCESS.
It generated COMPLEXITY: richly organised patterns, sometimes stable, sometimes unstable; sometimes finite, sometimes infinite; but ALWAYS WITH THE FASCINATION OF LIVING THINGS.”
(James Gleich. CHAOS – Making a new Science).
On Chaos Theory
One of the main principles governing chaos theory – is the fact that it is not possible to control initial conditions enough to be able to control the final result – often it may seem to be possible – but then along comes some minute unexpected fluctuation that serves to bring down the whole house of cards.
Another principle in chaos theory is that minute fluctuations in initial conditions can produce wildly exaggerated and unpredictable results further along the chain of events – the butterfly effect. This theory takes the premise that a butterfly beating its wings in South America could be the initial condition that could cause a devastating typhoon to strike in Asia.
The point is that we could possibly change the world by simply changing ourselves (changing something small – setting a chain reaction in motion that will ultimately change the world). If each individual fully takes the responsibility upon himself to behave in a way that is not harmful to others or to the environment – his small example could be noticed by others and could spread – not through preaching – but by demonstrating.
We would then, as individuals, become the set of initial conditions which could produce huge results at such a remove from us that we would not even be aware of that result. We must therefore learn to simply do what we do and move on and not carry the weight of expectation around with us towards a result.
On the Abuse of Power
The main area of difficulty that is highlighted by advances in communications technology is the (ab)use of information highways to spread disinformation and propaganda ….. for instance …….people have been fed with ideas and stereotypical pictures of various races to the point where it is no longer possible for them to see these others as members of the same species ….. east and west were taught this way to fear and despise each other ….. and the only real remedy to this type of indoctrination is to actually have contact with these others which is of course, in most cases not possible ….. which is of course to the idea.
The capacity for cruelty and barbarity in a people could be linked to the degree to which they have given over their individual responsibility to governments etc … they become so indoctrinated that they see only members of their own race as proper human beings and their government as the only reliable source of information … thus were the German people led into collaborating in the extermination of so many millions of others and the Israeli government are now indoctrinating their people in the same way about the Palestinians. It goes round and round in a loop!
How can ways be found to influence the people to the point where they start to take back their own personal responsibility and therefore, not torture people or bomb people or exterminate people without question _ to a point where they are again able to recognise that wrong and right are universal and apply equally to everyone.
Similarly, greed, crime, and cruelty can be seen as symptoms of the ever widening gap between poor and rich, this system serves only to encourage the baser instincts in the people, they work their life away and for what? Simply to keep the machinery in place that keeps them poor and deprived, small wonder then that people try to find a better way to get a more comfortable life, even if it be at the expense of people who are just like they are, by stealing from their fellows. Envy and deprivation combine to erase the person, substituting it with a creature that knows only some drive to try to equal the balance.
Political systems need people who they can manipulate to keep the wheels turning, whereas on the other hand, the people do not need political systems at all, but are quite capable of finding ways of keeping their communities rolling along. Trade and economical systems on the grand scale are also only necessary in order to generate the vast sums of money that are necessary for the financing of the arms trade and to pay the greedy 5% so that they, through their wealth and therefore their command of power may continue to live their decadent easy lives.
In order that this can continue, the broad mass of the people need to be pliable and fear of their neighbour is just one of the tools that are used to this end. Broadly speaking, “common people” are often kind and generous and possessed of a spirit of humanity towards all other people. It is noticeable in country regions, that people are either very generous and open hearted, or they are very mean and cruel, there is very little in between.
I have also noticed that people who have no real interest in power per se, are often the most open, whereas those that want to be leaders and live off the backs of their fellows are narrow and closed, allowing in only that information that can be useful to them.
Finally, a word about artistic responsibility
I once saw a film biography of Shostakovitch and was horrified by an announcement in the credits at the end which read…….
By the time of his death on March 5th 1953 Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin; Marshal of the Soviet Union had murdered or caused to be put to death in peacetime in all, at least 30 million people!
This is a fact that all should know and remember lest it be allowed to happen again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again.