Descartes' Motto

Upon reading A.C. Grayling's biography of René Descartes, I wrote down Descartes's motto ("to live well you must live unseen"). When I consider nobility, celebrities, rulers, and other leaders who seek or attract notoriety, I wonder what value this attention ultimately has? The benefits of fame will inevitably be tainted by distractions. Without understanding the disruption that overblown attention brings, it seems like fame often leads toward spiritual compromises, disfunction, or ruin. Being shuttled by handlers from place to place for the purpose of being seen and heard (often causing difficulty knowing who to trust) is the antithesis to living unseen. One can see why Descartes wanted to be unseen, he had thoughts and an inner life that needed care.

Sleep Study

One of my biggest difficulties is falling asleep and staying asleep. In an effort to post more, I began to making drawings in a quick and less restrained manner. Through this process a sleeping figure emerged (see above). It seems there could be a correlation between this drawing and efforts to get more/better sleep. Learning to let go of worry allows one to relax, and a placid state also seems to help lead the way to sleep. It could be that relaxing the drawing process may make one more productive in ways that are similar to sleep. I know that sleep allows us to be more active during our waking hours and my suspicion is that the dream state of sleep functions in a way that frees our minds and open us a range of insights during our waking hours. The connections between the dream and the insight may not always be apparent. However, I am aware of feeling led by an unknown presence when rested. My guess is that more posts should indicate that I am getting better sleep and I am more relaxed.

Drip Coffee and the Sands of Time

The word drawing above is a small gesture, arriving in much the same way words in a conversation come about. Although printed words are set and have a chance to linger, soon enough it is time to move along. If one does not have much (time, money, etc.) then one can do a little. Little by little eventually that small part accumulates into something bigger, maybe a river. Even making coffee reminds me of this, one drip at a time I am left with a full cup. Each sip is a little different and it changes the day in a small way. 

A New Start

For a year I contemplated starting a new blog and planned new posts. Nothing got completed and stubbornly nothing was added here. Today I wrote a little note: 

"If something new is difficult, perhaps an option is restarting something old. What is old then becomes something new."

I can't say how exactly I came to write this. However, it inspired me to continue. More is on the way.

Complete View

(To learn more about the "Viewfinder Project" see the original post.)

For many of us we are conditioned to see life framed by a screen. We spend hours in front of the computer, phone, tv, etc. Content is created quickly for these ever changing platforms and artist/creators now have more sophisticated tools to compare and edit visual material. Because of the widespread use of graphic content, it may seem to passive viewers that organizing visual content is natural and without precedence. In the early nineteenth century (prior to the invention of photography) compositions had to be devised by hand in a deliberate way. In this earlier era a graphic presence in culture must have seemed less diverse and also by comparison less pervasive.

When making my print about the viewfinder, I imagined the eighteenth century artists' milieu and thus featured characters I associated with this time. In the latter part of the twentieth century the the traditional viewfinder used in art class has become both a relic and a reminder of the struggle to find a perspective.

Relief Print by Kip Deeds (Size: 6" x 4 1/4")

Approaches to arrangement such as collage have also influenced compositional thinking. Rather than focusing attention on the picture as a window that reveals the illusion of a figure or a scene, artists have been combining diverse content as part of larger layouts. Unlike a traditional collage, on the computer screen the layout is unfixed. Images and icons are moved and ordered according to convenience or whim. In this realm notions of aesthetic permanence seem less significant. This shift in the way imagery is approached and created has changed art making and partially account for the variety of "Viewfinder" images I received.

Even though finding the most relevant view still requires great scrutiny, I am learning to set the traditional viewfinder tool aside. We have an abundance of tools, technologies, and platforms to help us see but often the greater problem is deciphering the glut of visual messages we are exposed to on a daily basis. In this regard our greatest assets are critical thinking and a knowledge of design. These skills will allow us to filter content so that we can focus on what is local (e.g. our friendships and our immediate surroundings) and enriching (what allows us to see the complexity that life provides).

Portrait of the author making a viewfinder with his hands.

Plug

I wrote a 200 word review for Title Magazine; take a look. It highlights the artwork of Mark Stockton now on view at Vox Populi Gallery in Philadelphia.

Dawson Weber: An Unfolding View

(To learn more about the "Viewfinder Project" see the original post.)

Dawson Weber sent me a thoughtfully and thoroughly packaged "Viewfinder". Actually, it seemed like he sent more than one. He titled the artwork Double Viewfinder and it consists of part I and part II.

Front of packaging sent by Dawson Weber

Unpacking Dawson's "Viewfinder" could be considered a metaphor for the way we have to take apart or consider each part of what we see in order to receive a more complete view. Because of Dawson's note about "handling with care", I saved his work for my last "Viewfinder" review. I did not want to risk shifting the delicate pastel drawing.

Dawson Weber: Part I of Double Viewfinder as found carefully packaged

Dawson Weber: Part II of Double Viewfinder as found carefully packaged

Dawson's projects usually have a rich conceptual origin (for more information visit his website). In this case his style of his drawing reminded me of his background in classical music. I connect the joy of movement, color, and material I see in Dawson's work with the artist Wassily Kandinsky (Kandinsky was interested in abstraction and its connection with music). The packaging and the delicacy of the pastel are parameters that seem to heighten the aura of the work. It is as if you know the experience can not last because of the fragile shifting nature of the pastel. The drawings remind me of the way we want to hold onto a song we love but can't because it keeps moving or the way we know that the color of a flower will not stay the same.

Dawson Weber, Double Viewfinder Part I,  Pastel, 15" x 11", 2006

Dawson Weber, Double Viewfinder Part II,  Pastel, 6" x 4 1/4", 2006

Double Viewfinder Part II placed on top Double Viewfinder Part I 
(set up to give a sense of scale and connection between the two parts)

Finally, what I have learned from observing Dawson Weber's artwork and other work that commands my attention is that investment must be made. When consideration is given then the world can be seen with greater depth. To see life and recognize its complexity is surely an amazing gift.