Vook Bebiew X

As we rebel against beauty, the issue of "design" comes in: not design as composition, but design as - I'm sorry! - a judgement call.
My senior art project in college was my hand-built coil ceramics that were totally non-functional, but meangingful - like a sculpture - and completely unique, but the only hint of beauty I could ascribe to them was an earthy but sparkly glaze that a fellow student-gal kindly lent me. I applied it in a couple different hues, to all the pieces. "Rule-wise" there was no glaze required, but something within judged the whole design as insignificant, if it didn't have at least an attempt at beauty.
That's a judgement call, and that's where the Da-Da ists made their departure. They moved into left brain. They made left-brain choices that became so extreme that they could declare that "extremity" is art, that contrast is art, that anything displayed could be art. But I say:
No design. No beauty.
No standards.
Little art.

Vook Rebiew IX

MEANINGFUL AND UNIQUE, BUT NOT BEAUTIFUL.
In his book Whole New Mind (WNM) Dan Pink says (and I'm paraphrasing) that Right-Brain is "meaningful, unique and beautiful". I like this premise, and he elaborates upon it throughout WNM. To me this is the most pure definition of visual art, whether it's 2- or 3-dimensional, and of music, dance, theatre, authorship, calligraphy, flower-arrangement, singing, public speaking, performances, even stand-up comedy. (I heard it said - as a side-bar - that Jerry Seinfeld says "if you work CLEAN, you can work ANYWHERE," and that to me is where "beauty" comes in, added to "unique" and "funny"!)
But back to Right-Brain as a definition. D. Pink, in WNM, says that "intellectual" is not considered Right-Brain, but Left-Brain. And there's obviously a place for "intellectual". However in art, for example in DaDa-ism, which for many is extremely MEANINGFUL, and of course UNIQUE, (that's a given!), I feel they were clearly rebelling against BEAUTY.

To me, it's a question of DESIGN.
Stay tuned.

Vook Rebiew VIII

Reading Whole New Mind (WNM) by Daniel H. Pink: he says that "story is where high concept and high touch intercept." Pg. 103. And he says the "Aptitude of STORY is Context Enriched by Emotion".......so here's my thusly defined story, from my past week:

Thunderstorms are very wet and wild.
In the desert, so dry and hot, the contrast between rainstorm and desert is remarkable.
Monsoons like this occur globally, of course, in various climes and locations.
But my life is here, in Arizona, and I find it more memorable than weather stats and facts and factoids online.

Rainwater on my patio, in my special bucket, from the waterfall off my roof: dark skies, flailing winds in my olive tree, and the gestures of the tall, tall eucapalyptus nearby, with highly visible lightning strikes that fairly crackle, and slashing water from the skies. The noise is overwhelming, in my little villa, with the screen doors.
I love it.
Or, as they say on the street,
"I'm lovin' it!"

Vook Rebiew VII

In WNM, Mr. Pink often refers to the differences between the left-brain approach and the right-brain approach. It has opened my eyes.

This week I went to an "art demo" during which the artist made so many right-brain references to us, that you would've thought he was reading Daniel Pink's material. He is a very well-known and accomplished artist (I love his work) named David Simons, of Tubac, Arizona, and he said:

"Painting is an event." (Not a thing.)

"Painting is a process, not a painting." and he quoted Confucius as saying:

"He who thinks about the fruits of his labor is miserable." The key word there, I think Pink would agree, is "thinks": try not to think so much, but to feel and experience.......

Simons defined art: "Art is nature as seen through a temperament." In other words, our feelings can actually design and interpret reality. And he said "The world never gets tired of seeing itself through new eyes." Time to pull a laminated quote from my wallet: Edgar Degas said,"Art is not what you see, but what you make others see." Now I am encouraged and rejuvenated, as I am by reading A Whole New Mind : such fresh, right-brain concepts.

Vook Rebiew VI

• Whole New Mind: this non-fiction book is very "Big Picture", very "Here and Now": very helpful and apropos. Granted, the economy is a distraction, but the economy is a Left-Brain drain. We were brought into "abundance" (Daniel Pink's word) by Left Brain tactics, but - let's face it - that couldn't last, as we are all now aware! It was the Left Brain that can't hold us in the position of "abundance" any longer. We didn't get to the Right Brain soon enough. Dan Pink is the herald of our times, with his research into Right Brain tactics and Right Brain phenomena, to my way of thinking.
• Mr. Pink, in this book, is quick to point out, that "Left" is not bad per se, and "Right" is not good per se, but that it's the balance between them that's required. He says we rapidly lost track of our Right-Brain directions as Left Brain got the bit in its teeth and plunged us into its own Left brain prosperity. It was prosperity, but we were out of balance.
• The mistake is to go on thinking that Left Brain tactics alone will will continue to serve us, that Left Brain tactics alone will restore the balance to our economic state. And Dan Pink's book, WNM, is very current and will help us restore our balance.

Vook Rebiew V

-In Whole New Mind, Pink states that because of recent affluence, the burgeoning of technology (software that writes software, for eg.) and outsourcing: a world that grows smaller every day, the fact is, we are being nudged into a brand new era. Pink calls it the Conceptual Age, as plays out against the Agricultural, the Industrial, and the Information Ages.
-The Conceptual Age, he says, has, as its main characters "the CREATOR, and EMPATHIZER, whose distinctive ability is mastery of Right-Directed Thinking" (reference to the right brain).
- The "management meta-guru" Tom Peters says we have discovered our Copernicus for this brave new age in Daniel Pink. So I went to Wikipedia for Copernicus - 1473-1543 - astronomer, philosopher, a central figure in Europe, of the so-called Scientific Revolution, whose theory referred to the "changing fortunes of the kingdom of the world" a totally "deep" reference, in my opinion. I am quite taken with the idea of a world that is a kingdom, perhaps a plane of existence.
-Daniel Pink, though he deals with the white collar individual and the realm of exisitence entitled "economy" (instead of the sun, as did Copernicus) may have a handle on this kingdom in general, which is our world.

Vook Rebiew IV

In WNM by Dan Pink, ("Think Pink!") he states that our need now is to find things which are "pleasing to the eye, or compelling to the soul". He says: "it is woefully insufficient - in an age of abundance - to appeal only to needs which are RATIONAL, LOGICAL, AND FUNCTIONAL."

Let's go with "compelling to the soul". Isn't that the very essence, the quintessential definition of ART? I think it includes literature, dance and music, paintings and murals and crafts and drawings and comics, and theatre, movies, even stand-up comedy. It's all art, and mostly the reason we read, and attend, and look at, absorb and laugh, is it's because it's compelling to the soul, thank you Dan Pink.

As far as "age of abundance", we do have some reasons to turn about and ask questions, as to: "how does this relate?" With less abundance, are we less Right Brain? Or was this "economic downturn" caused by too much Right Brain? and do we move forward with ongoing Right Brain?

Vook Rebiew

A Whole New Mind, (WNM) by Dan Pink, says, in his introduction, and I quote,

"The future belongs to a very different kind of person with a very different kind of mind -- creators and empathizers, pattern recognizers, and meaning makers. These people -- artists, inventors, designers, storytellers, caregivers, consolers, big picture thinkers -- will now reap society's richest rewards and share its greatest joys."

I've read the book now three times. (I love it.) Mr.Pink does not ignore the Left Brain, but I must say I feel that most arts are always a combination of Left and Right. It's like mastering the scales on the piano, (left brain) so that great music and fun (right brain) can be performed by you on that instrument. Or learning which amounts of water will do what (left brain), with watercolors, so that art, and fun, (right brain) can be produced. What I'm talking about is the combination.

Vook Rebiew

In my Right Brain, I still totally want this book (A Whole New Mind by Daniel H. Pink) to be current - I want the the emotions to still have something to say about reality in the business world.

I have just had two paintings accepted in one of my favorite galleries in the local art colony. And two more are requested to be framed. To me this is proof that "A Whole New Mind" is right on, even if we are in a recession. Because this is a first for me, I've been wanting it for decades.

If Art is still being bought, and at wonderful outrageous profit, as it seems to be, then there's hope for this Recession, even if I personally believe it will be a while to recover from it.......

More on WNM next time. (Although this is a book mostly about the Right Brain, there is a place for the Left Brain, too....)

Vook Rebiew

"A Whole New Mind," the book by Daniel H. Pink, is my passion this month, next to "Avatar" the "blue" movie.

Mr. Pink is a young man who used to write speeches for Al Gore when Mr. Gore was in the White House.

WNM (Whole New Mind) is a very current treatise, published in 2005, only 5 years ago....one of Mr. Pink's theories is that because of this age of abundance, people want more right-brain factors going on in their lives: beauty, uniqueness, and meaning. I love it. And there's lots more to it.

The interesting thing is that soon after the book was published, the economy took this huge downturn, that we're suffering from at this time (2010). Now it seems we're no longer in an age of abundance........and I'd like to address this, in reference to this excellent book, as my blog continues, in the next few days.

Three Versus Two

The only thing that makes something 3-dimensional as opposed to 2-dimensional, is if you can walk by it and walk through it! (or swim through it or ride through it or dive through it! Or fly! through it......

Of course if something is 3-dimensional, it doesn't have to be human-crafted. But if it is two dimensional, as we are dealing with, it pretty much has to be human-crafted. This leads us to some interesting conclusions in the art world. One can construct sculpture and ceramic figures and vases, for example, and architectural edifices, or an automobile or an airplane or a ship, or a printing press, and these are clever and 3-dimensional, but most other things that are 3-dimensional are definitely not human crafted: nature and space, and humans, and flowers and trees and animals and fish, etc!

And so we have to be willing to focus ourselves on the art world, if we are limiting ourselves to the world of two dimensions. Here in two dimensions we will find the work of ALL the great painters, plus many skillful and ingenius graphic commercial artists, plus calligraphers and illustrators and photographers and printmakers and draftsmen and fabric designers, and all surface designers!

Paper Group

Right up the alley of 2-dimensional artwork, comes the mission statement of an art-group that likes to work exclusively with paper:
"Paperworks Mission Statement"
"The...Collective for paper-artists provides educational and creative opportunities for all who work ...on paper, and promotes the appreciation and enjoyment of the paper....arts........"

The nature of paper is that it is, of course, two-dimensional, and thus fits into our study of the two-dimensional arts in this world. (I went to a paper-making class the other day, and while it was definitely not a two-dimensional process, the final product that I turned out, paper, was two-dimensional, and ready to be worked with, drawn on, used in collage, cut up or not, dyed, traced around, glued, scripted on, etc!)

I am excited to discover this local Collective, and since I have always been a paper-freak, since I was about 6 years old, I am looking forward to "join up" with them. Will keep you posted!

Pressed Flowers

OK, I have now attended my first flower-pressing group - or actually it is a crafts group that makes greeting cards (two-dimensional art work) using pressed flowers. (Everyone gathers and presses their own flowers at home, and then brings them to the group meeting.)

Originally I had thought that such a crafts-person would simply place one pressed flower, complete with its foliage, in the center of the blank card, and then do the final touches by affixing it to the card with the provided clear contact paper. "Voila."

But no, these artisans often separate the petals and then press them, so that many more varieties of artwork are possible: many more slants on composition, color combination, and contrast are presented, as was evident to me today by their cards. They also press varieties of foliage from weeds, shrubs, flowers, bouquets in-a-vase, ferns, leaves, etc.

They even gave me a huge gazania flower-head from which to remove the petals and press in my very own telephone book at home, plus a likewise dissected chrysanthemum ! Here goes!

Cookbooks

As has been mentioned, photographs are obviously 2-dimensional art. Still photography is a huge and varied market in today's world of news and beauty.

One type of photograph I like and even insist on in certain circumstances, is the photograph of the meal itself that accompanies the recipe in a cookbook! I don't know if it's that I'm dyslexic in this area, but the photograph adds so much to the whole idea of preparing the meal.

If I am looking for recipes of say, ways to cook chicken, I am already focused on a sound idea, and I may not need a photo, but if I am just browsing, seeking to be inspired, seeking to expand my cooking horizons, I need a photo. And these cooking photos are always a lovely close-up, suggestive, in mouth-watering color, with an interesting composition, good lines, nice background, etc......going right along with the artistic guidelines of a good photo....

And it makes one wonder who got to consume that luscious meal after it was photographed!

Pressed Flowers

I've been invited to join a charity group which makes greeting cards with pressed flowers.

Now, this is no attempt at fine art.

However I have to expound on how I used to make greeting cards with pressed flowers some 40 years ago, all on my own. I remember during a drought in northern California I scavenged for lupines and wild sweet peas, because nothing much else was blossoming. Here and now in the desert we have the Mexican Firebird, which everyone knows, blooms all summer long and well into the fall. I am sneaking peeks already at these colorful shrubs in the wild, where I would hopefully not be apprehended for accosting the landscape.......these beautiful flowers must somehow find their way into the pages of my flower-pressing telephone book......

The result will be 2-dimensional pressed flower greeting cards, with matching envelopes, though I have yet to attend my first meeting! .....

Primitive Interior

We're going to go on a little tourist attraction today: about 20 minutes from where I live in southeastern Arizona there is a large Spanish Mission from the 1600's, San Xavier Mission which, you guessed it, is chock full of ancient paintings done on the interior walls, throughout.

Its location is just south of Tucson on Interstate 19, off the road about a half-mile: you can easily see its inspiring spires from the Freeway.

From the outside San Xavier architecturally resembles any other gorgeous Spanish Mission (and very well kept up), all in white, with the arches and the domes, and the steeples, and the palm trees and cactuses, but it's the interior walls that present today's 2-dimensional subject.

All this artwork is like decoration, in the sense that all the painted lines run into each other, and all pictures, and designs, and borders are juxtaposed, one thing right next to another, from the interior top of the domes and steeples, down to the floor, and also on the walls from side to side. (It is a huge photo-op!) It actually reminds me of being inside a wedding cake, with all the cake decorations somehow projected onto the retinas of my eyes.....

Icons

Another piece of two-dimensional art from Medieval times is the icon. These days, the word "icon" has been used to represent celebrities, and even people who are famous for being famous..... :-) ......but I digress....

Icons from the past were often painted with gold highlights and painted on wood, or wooden 2-part screens, or (3-part) triptychs. Many of these were only a few inches high, although many were depicted on large pieces. These were usually of a religious nature, and represented personages, or popes or saints or the Virgin Mary with Child, or represented an event or a story, like the "illuminations" of last entry, and many times from the Bible. These icons are usually placed in ancient churches, and cathedrals (we're talking Europe) or museums of modern times. They are not hard to find actually, and I have bought several from shops, quite reasonably, just to decorate the entertainment center in my home. They sit quite nicely on top of the TV, for example.

I have to report that the shops I have frequented for these purchases are often in Mexico.

Illuminations

An illumination is simply a colorful illustration found in a book. However, it usually has an outdated look, because many times these illuminations were done some 600 years ago, and tended to accompany the pages of text written and scrolled on by monks, who were often the only people who could read and write in those days.

These illuminations never fill the entire page, but are simply inserted into the beginning of the chapter, up on the top left.

The illuminations often are very poorly drawn, though they are colorful and have nicely done borders (there's that word again) around them. It is painfully clear that those who rendered these illistrations were by no means artists, and were simply instructed to draw something out, according to the contents of the chapter.

I think the illuminations merely have an historical value, if sometimes grotesque and not truly "cultural" in quality, but they are worth noting for the sake of historical (hysterical?) drama.

Sunshine!

Suppose we apply "borders" and "2-dimensional" but leave the rectangular item for a while.

If we go the craft realm we could look at say, a round or oval shape; for example: a plate.

This morning in my ceramics studio I moved from my customary ceramic square tile, to a circular plate which I wanted to decorate by applying glazes, with brushes and sponges. It's really not fudging to say that it is virtually a 2-dimensional format.

Around the round edges, of course, a plate gives one the opportunity to choose from among a myriad of borders. Withe the help of a couple of artsy-craftsy stencils I sponged patterns around the border of the plate, interspersed with the word "Believe", which is one of those current catchwords that seems to be popular at the moment, and it suited my fancy. And in the center of the plate one can paint a vignette, or a landscape, or perhaps a sunshine face, which is what I did. Now it's ready for the fire, and here's hoping it turns out sunshiney!

Wallflowers!

Wallpaper is not something we usually think about ...but obviously it presents a great possibility for enhancing the atmosphere and artistic mood of our own homes. A good painting also looks good hung up on a wallpapered wall.

One of the things I like about wallpaper is the huge variety that is available out there, and one can see them in so many sample books, in the various "home box" stores. Not only do you see the endless variety of color schemes, but same for the designs, and the sizes of the designs. Some people like tiny teeny little vignettes - eg. carefully spaced moss roses - and some people like expansive and wonderful stripes - Coco cabana! - and some people even like still life's. I have to admit, grapes and grapevines are very popular.

Then there's the textured look, where the whole wall is simply an exercise in texture, often a reproduction of a pattern applied with a sea-sponge or a "rag," and in one color, or two colors, or sometimes in three colors, carefully selected of course, with a certain color-scheme in mind. And sometimes, the homeowner skips the store entirely and uses her own paints and sponges!