Creativity
….. is not a function of a rational process alone. Intellectual decisions are made during the process of creating a work of art, but an intuitive function of consciousness we call imagination is necessary as well. Intuition only works when reason is disconnected temporarily.
Rational decisions have their place when creating art, but artists exercise a sea-saw movement between reason and working blind for periods of time.
Intuitive thinking is a form of channeling material from a collective source. At least, that is the position of the great psychologist Carl Jung, and I agree; artists tap into sources beyond personal information or rational models.
The Inside and Outside
In all works of art, there is a ratio between the external world of appearances, and the inner world of experience. This mono print with mixed media that I made fifteen years ago, is called, “Duplicity,” and the visual content has more to do with an inner state than the outer appearance of something. By contrast, see my self-portraits below.
I relied heavily on what I saw external to myself in the portraits below. But even in these images, based on my outer appearance, an inner dimension of my identity is evident.
Creativity is a form of growth. Integrating what is known outside of oneself with what is known inside of oneself, is the very nature of growth. Integration is the key term because each dimension is a reflection of the other. Expanding one’s knowledge base of the outside world is useless unless there is a shift within one’s inner landscape. All of the arts are a vehicle for this kind of understanding.
This does not mean an artist instantly understands his own work or anyone else’s. The examples below, of small compositions, are not instances where I immediately understood what my unconscious was dictating. They remain as mysterious as the external events of my life have often been. Yet I know, to understand one dimension is to understand the other.
Intuitive Compostions
These images had no object behind their execution beyond a form of reflection. They had nothing to do with any conscious intent of my own.
The images emerged under my hand as I switched between conscious control and movements made without thinking. What results from this method is always a surprise, but never random. Their meaning may never be known, or upon reflection, I may decode their symbols. The ultimate meaning is always more profound than any rational explanation can provide, and can only be reached through metaphor.
The image to the right was executed when I was trapped in a teaching job that was a dead end. The window pictured was in my classroom studio. It was just a graphite drawing, but powerful in its message for me. The image ermerged from my unconsicious with profound clarity.
Art as Decoration
These are two parts of a triptych made to decorate my daughter’s busines. They were developed as monotprints (images painted on glass, then transferred) with stencils overlaid on the surface.
Art Based on Historical Models
This mural was painted on my bathroom wall and celebrated the art of the ancient Minoans. (1600 BC) It was my intention to put the Minoan Snake Goddess at the end of the procession, but my friend Marcela pointed out it was bad feng shui to put a goddess over the toilet. I considered this a good point and just left the stately figures as they were, marching into the opposite wall.
Illustration
An illustration, like the image to the left, is generally commercial in its function. Images are made to support text, or to function within a genre like bookplates, family crests, greeting cards, and other purposes that are not works simply made for their own sake. (Fine Art)
The function of a work generally dictates its attributes and value in that it is judged on how well it performs its function. A book illustration does not operate by the same rules as a piece of fine art. Illustration supports another function and can be evaluated on how well it fulfills its purpose in supporting the particular mission for which it is intended.
Here are examples of illustrations I have done over the years for various projects.
The images to the left are book illustrations, the image below, a bookplate.
Ontological Levels
Art that is decorative and merely whimsical, can also have deep meaning. Here is a Christmas tree I made. The symbolic meaning of the tree’s vertical axis represents eternity, the horizontal elements represent levels of being in time. So even art that is light-hearted and traditional can have a meaningful place in our lives.
