Tuesday, May 29, 2007
What happens to us when art connects to the unconscious
The second part of that two-part series by Steve Winn in SF Chronicle.
NY Times article The Alchemist’s Moment: The Reclusive Mr. Polke
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/27/arts/design/27voge.html
From Laughter and Tears -- a Cleansing of the Heart (Osho)
Osho,
What do you say about modern art?
I don't know much about modern art, and I don't want to know much about it either. It is not much of an art. In the past art had a totally different quality: it was beautiful. Modern art is ugly. It is very rare to find something beautiful in modern art, and I can see the reason. The modern mind is boiling with repressed sexuality, anger, hatred, violence. Centuries of repressions have become accumulated; it has come to a crescendo and it is erupting. The volcano is erupting!
Modern art is more like a catharsis, more like vomiting. It is not art. One just wants to get rid of all kinds of poisons that have become accumulated. The same is true about all dimensions of art; music, poetry, painting, sculpture -- they all have become ugly.
Modern man is suffering, is in immense misery and hell and that shows in modern art. Modern art is a reflection. Art is always a reflection, it is a mirror, because the artist is the most sensitive person in the society, hence he is first to become aware of what is happening; others take a longer time to become aware.
The poet is the most prophetic because he becomes aware of things which are going to happen, he becomes aware a little ahead of time, hence he is never understood.
Modern art is psychotic -- it reflects humanity. It shows that something has gone wrong, very wrong: man is falling apart. And modern art is representative art. In a way it is very realistic; it is not creating a dream world, a fantasy. But it has lost the artistic touch.
Amrita, just as modern man needs a new birth, modern art also needs a new birth. But that is a secondary phenomenon. Unless a new man arrives on the earth a new art cannot arrive, a new poetry cannot be born.
What do you say about modern art?
I don't know much about modern art, and I don't want to know much about it either. It is not much of an art. In the past art had a totally different quality: it was beautiful. Modern art is ugly. It is very rare to find something beautiful in modern art, and I can see the reason. The modern mind is boiling with repressed sexuality, anger, hatred, violence. Centuries of repressions have become accumulated; it has come to a crescendo and it is erupting. The volcano is erupting!
Modern art is more like a catharsis, more like vomiting. It is not art. One just wants to get rid of all kinds of poisons that have become accumulated. The same is true about all dimensions of art; music, poetry, painting, sculpture -- they all have become ugly.
Modern man is suffering, is in immense misery and hell and that shows in modern art. Modern art is a reflection. Art is always a reflection, it is a mirror, because the artist is the most sensitive person in the society, hence he is first to become aware of what is happening; others take a longer time to become aware.
The poet is the most prophetic because he becomes aware of things which are going to happen, he becomes aware a little ahead of time, hence he is never understood.
Modern art is psychotic -- it reflects humanity. It shows that something has gone wrong, very wrong: man is falling apart. And modern art is representative art. In a way it is very realistic; it is not creating a dream world, a fantasy. But it has lost the artistic touch.
Amrita, just as modern man needs a new birth, modern art also needs a new birth. But that is a secondary phenomenon. Unless a new man arrives on the earth a new art cannot arrive, a new poetry cannot be born.
Monday, May 28, 2007
Painting a Picture of the Creative Mind
The first in a 2-part series on art and creativity, in the SF Chronicle.
"That's one way of getting at the fascinating paradox of any artistic endeavor. Only by mastering certain rigorous skills and navigating a highly conscious sequence of decisions can an artist hope to unlock the deep chambers of human experience that make the end results matter. It's in this delicate negotiation of craft and inspiration, conscious choices and the summons of the unconscious, that art finds its form and communicative power."
-- Tuesday: What happens to us when art connects to the unconscious.
"That's one way of getting at the fascinating paradox of any artistic endeavor. Only by mastering certain rigorous skills and navigating a highly conscious sequence of decisions can an artist hope to unlock the deep chambers of human experience that make the end results matter. It's in this delicate negotiation of craft and inspiration, conscious choices and the summons of the unconscious, that art finds its form and communicative power."
-- Tuesday: What happens to us when art connects to the unconscious.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Nature Cuter than Sanrio?
At our painting class's final crit yesterday, instructor Glen mentioned these deep sea critters from a Science story in this week's NY Times.
Monday, May 21, 2007
Info Binge: Participation
So many books, so little time: some of what I'm reading and excited about, artwise.
Participation / Claire Bishop (2006) Just picked up at library today, looks like best reader I've seen so far on art that engages the viewer as producer.
The following are also on the same or related subject:
What we want is free : generosity and exchange in recent art / edited by Ted Purves (2005)
Conversation pieces : community and communication in modern art / Grant H. Kester (2004)
New practices, new pedagogies : a reader / [edited by] Malcolm Miles (2005)
They all seem to reference this one:
Relational Aesthetics / Nicolas Bourriaud (1998) which I haven't been able to find yet, but is excerpted in Bishop's Participation above.
Eventually I want to check this one out:
Trickster Makes This World: Mischief, Myth, & Art / Lewis Hyde (1998)
Participation / Claire Bishop (2006) Just picked up at library today, looks like best reader I've seen so far on art that engages the viewer as producer.
The following are also on the same or related subject:
What we want is free : generosity and exchange in recent art / edited by Ted Purves (2005)
Conversation pieces : community and communication in modern art / Grant H. Kester (2004)
New practices, new pedagogies : a reader / [edited by] Malcolm Miles (2005)
They all seem to reference this one:
Relational Aesthetics / Nicolas Bourriaud (1998) which I haven't been able to find yet, but is excerpted in Bishop's Participation above.
Eventually I want to check this one out:
Trickster Makes This World: Mischief, Myth, & Art / Lewis Hyde (1998)
Art, Culture, Environment: Jason Taylor's Underwater Sculpture Gallery
"The aim of the Sculpture Park is to create a unique space which highlights environmental processes and celebrates local culture. By creating an artificial reef of sculptures which depict Grenadian peoples and their history, the project fulfils its dual purpose of protecting the marine environment and illustrating the richness of Grenada"You can learn more about the project here.
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