Response
It is my purpose as an artist to create work which upon perception initiates response. Specific response is not my aim, just simply response, of whatever description, duration, intensity, or level of perception an individual may experience. I believe that the nature and essence of life is growth, and that growth, rather than mere movement in time, can take place within an individual when a self-awareness of one’s living experience is taking place. It is difficult for me to imagine an awareness of one’s Self, or Living Force, without the Self being involved in some relative existence, which in effect is being alive, but most relative existence becomes lost in familiarity and taken for granted without reaction or without awareness of reaction. In the instance where one is aware of one’s experience of direct response to any sensual stimulus, the experiencing Self is very much focused in sensual attentions and consequently is at least available for possible perusal and growth. The experiencing of Self need not be manifesting only in thought, rational or otherwise, for there’s much experienced awareness apart from thought, as the art experience readily attests to. Self-awareness can certainly be enacted in the circumstance of any response to any event of living, but I believe the most difficult of things is to do just that on any continuous basis without a lifetime of practice. Consequently, a charged stimulus that will evoke a unique or original reaction, or a new combination of previous response is an aid in capturing one’s own attentions of Self-observation and establishing the arena for growth. My work as an artist is an effort to provide such charged stimulus to myself and others.
In visual art of any medium or mode (abstract to realism) the idea of color is of most interest to myself, and it is from that basis that my own work is most directed. Color in all of its aspects of hue, value, chroma, and association or relation, affects generalities of response directions and intensities, in addition to the effects of design, form, relative mode or medium. A realistic mode of design and form usually enjoys more active interaction than abstract work, where individual reaction generally varies to a greater degree. This correlation of reactive strength isn’t as predictable with color design. Specific response to color design by an individual is based upon their own innate natural tolerances or tendencies toward colors and upon self-developed functions of relating to them. Due to this individual and subjective nature of color response, and to the idea that color and design appeal to attentions outside of thought as well as within it, predictability of specific reaction seems uncertain beyond the initiation of response behavior. Though not intending specific reactionary experience, I do exercise specific and concise effort on the direction and procession of work in process by projecting through the parameters of my abilities and experience, the most affecting work that I am able to, and as practice sharpens my instincts of visual and sensual form, I impart more of my experiencing Self, rather than my particular notations of experiencing to my work, resulting in a more effectual sensual stimulus. As a style in my work continues to stabilize, it is the dimension of that style rather than my notating dimension which strengthens the probability of an active response. Once initiated, the procession of one’s response and any awareness of it are individual in nature, i.e., dependent upon self-development. The degree to which one notices and consciously experiences one’s own reaction in any experience and with all faculties of perception, affects the degree to which one is aware of, or knows their being here on earth in the sense that fulfillment in life and consequent personal happiness is enhanced by such moments of knowing and growth.
Wonder
Wonder is creativity in operation. Creativity involves new association of relating in thought, or in experience, or in both, and it also implies growth. I want to stimulate personal growth by initiating response within rational thought, and in emotional experience, and even in physical orientation. With life, response is certain upon perceived confrontation with stimulus of any description and ranges in manifestation from total passivity to intense action. Living is a chain of responses. It is the taking note of one’s response, irregardless of its specific nature, that yields insight to our living and focuses our attentions of senses. Such recognition of life’s experience, acknowledging awareness, is living in the fullest sense, and in such a mode of association, wonder develops and issues in creative correlation with our own being. If we watch, we not only note, but influence creativity. Our pure and complete focus of attention initiated within wonder results in a state of being unsurpassed in positive gratification and fulfillment. That state of being is certainly erratic in occurrence despite our intentions otherwise. The state of wonder itself however, once achieved, is a perfect catalyst for growth. Familiar recollection or directed habitual determination of response ceases to exist in the face of one’s own creativity, and growth extends and develops.
Innate merits of composure inherent in product or production culturally define artistic expression. Visual or performance arts, as we ideally know them exist for response to such merits with no other distinguishing purpose. Response arising out of confrontation of material reality often terminates in subjective thought based on our predilections and habitual associations both cultural and personal. Wonder manifesting in mind opens new doors and allows initiation of new beginnings or new interpretations of all aspects of behavioral activity. Growth begins in wonder. New stimulus or circumstances may incite wonder more readily than the familiar, but the familiar, especially so in musical expression, where it is responsible for development of style, has a strength of focus to direct attention also, and in all art expressions of consequence, the very constitution of a work attracts attention repeatedly and transforms first impressions of newness into the familiar. This familiarity with an artistic expression, as with anything else, tends to contain attention and is a basis of logic. But, with artistic expression, it seems that more often the focused attention manifests in wonder. For growth we insist at discovery, and without wonder, we couldn’t even start.
As a visual artist I determine particulars of design first using intuition, which is what I call creative wonder, and analyze afterwards for positive appreciation. Aside from my interest in affects of color design, I believe that linear design based on natural shapes in an abstracted representation conduces wonder. Within that idiom I often employ line and circle, horizon and terrestrial sphere, i.e., physical-scapes, to graphically reiterate sensations of the infinite edge of knowledge which of course exists within any avenue of perception of any reality. Infinite discovery takes place at these edges as a function of wonder. Direction of discovery is personal. The action of discovery is creative growth. The method is acknowledged response. Unacknowledged response is sleep. No response is death. No wonder.
