I often have difficulty of over thinking my work. Those of you who know me realize that my head is always crowded with ideas. The problem is I am obsessed with facts. Not the perception of facts, which I feel free to shift, but I am obsessed with logic in the most Enlightenment sense of the word. It is difficult for me to keep silent when someone speaks of an idea in which there is certain knowledge contradicting them. It is also difficult for me to make arbitrary decisions. Why should a decision be arbitrary when it can be purposeful? However I do often make intuitive decisions. Decisions which feel right and even necessary, but which I cannot explain. My intuitive decisions are often my best, both in terms of concept and visuals.
For the most part my art is meticulously thought out. My statements for each project reflect a concentrated and researched pattern of thought. I try to make sense of every piece of my creation. Once everything is in its place I can feel satisfied. I can explain almost everything. Yet the pieces which I can’t explain hold the most meaning for me. Those pieces, I call art. Here lies my dilemma.
Art is not a convergent science. Two plus two will mean a different thing to every artist, and that is the beauty of art. What were absolute truths for the Greeks are not truths for us. The ideals of the ancient culture have been tested by thousands of years of human experience, comedies and tragedies on a grand scale. Perhaps that is why Greek sculptures are considered genius works of art, and the very similar neo-classical works are often regarded as talented but superficial forms of nostalgia. Art is an exploration. It is how I see and interpret and understand the world. The world is not black and white but a whole prismatic spectrum of tints and shades. I seek to perceive the world, not draw absolute conclusions for it.
With these ideas I will create a new logic for my art. If my best art is intuitive, and what I wish to communicate is not absolute, I must stop treating my work like an equation. It cannot be a literal translation from words into visuals. It must be an expression of my contemplations. It is only logical.
Being intuitive is the very nature of women, but we've grown away from trusting it. I certainly have. I agree that my gut is right more so than my head. It knows by sensing what I need sans facts. It frustrates me there is a simpler way to life when I have spent so much time writing and analyzing.
ReplyDeleteWhen I am done with this book, you will really like it- Women who run with the wolves. It's about regaining our wildish nature.
How do you plan on being more spontaneous in your art? That is something I want for my art too, but struggle to be intuitive when it comes to planning a project.
It's not that I don't trust my mind. I don't think that my mind is not "right". In fact, intuition is just that, trusting that your mind is right without over-analyzing the reasoning for it. There was a great study in Scientific American Mind that centered upon intuitive decisions. Intuitive decisions were most often of use when the person had previous knowledge and experience in the subject. So the more you learn, grow and analyze the better you will become at making intuitive decisions.
ReplyDeleteI have no plans to forgo writing or dissecting this big puzzle, which is life. But in regards to my art I have decided to trust gut decisions more, and not try to explain my every motive.