Sometimes people give voice to thoughts I have often "felt" or perceived in my mind but hadn't found language for. Other times I do find the language and I write it down before I forget what I was thinking. ;o) Here are some words that have spoken to me and captured my emotions, even just for the brief time I heard them....
"Edward Thomas said 'Trees and people are imperfect friends,' citing the imperfect nature of humans and the silence of trees. There are however times of harmony. With Lombardy Poplars, for instance, whose thirst and fragility might tempt us to cut them down, but whose beauty gives us pause, they seem to say with us what we could not say perfectly by ourselves, 'I will praise you Oh Lord with my whole heart.'" ~ Robert Adams (Photographer)
"Almost every book begins with a gift. A picture you weren't expecting. Surprise is a part of photography. It's one of the great, enlivening blessings of the medium. At your best it teaches you to try to remain open to new experiences, because the gifts sometimes are really exciting." ~ Robert Adams
"Photography and poetry both center on metaphor." ~Robert Adams
"We have difficulty replicating what nature can do" ~Mark Dion (In creating a space for a fallen tree in the city)
"Anger has been a motivating source...I'm grateful to my anger"~Ursula von Rydingsvard
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Ursula von Rydingsvard found chaos to be more interesting than order. This hit me uncomfortably, as I love order. Learning how to deal with chaos is essential in life however, because man creates chaos. God can bring order. We can practice bringing order through awareness in our bodies and minds, to ourselves. If a person feels chaotic inside, it is hard to unite or commitment with or to anything. Chaos in the artistic process can be beautiful and remain so. Chaos in life is harder to reconcile. It leaves things uncompleted...and we are all searching for wholeness. Chaotic art can help lead someone to awareness, to identification even, and then to wholeness. The art may not be whole, but the person can be.
I love the sound of glass.
The photographer Robert Adams identified what was glorious and at the same time what was disturbing and needed correction in the photographs he took. This is how I see the earth most of the time. The earth is God's footstool. It is also a beautiful crown for Him. The earth declares the glory of God. The beauty that helps give life meaning. Yet it displays ugliness, but from Man's doing, not from the Creation itself. Recognizing this can be the first steps to healing--circumstances that invade and bring hopelessness come from unrighteousness and the world's "fallen" state. But hope is always present. God's headlines are always hopeful. Healing can be found in the glorious, as you journey towards correcting the disturbing. On this earth, they come together. When we die, it's a different story.
Does my art "make sense" to the viewer? How much of art is done for the artist himself and how much for the viewer? Each artist gets to decide. It your art a message, an expression, a battle cry? Purpose. In expressive arts therapy, a lot of emphasis is put on the fact your art doesn't have to "make sense" or "be" anything concrete. The act of creating itself is healing. This is one approach to healing. There is also the approach of creating with more of a focus, or creating in response to another's creation. There's also taking in another's work and finding meaning in it for yourself. However, being engaged in the creative process for yourself works areas in you for full engagement. It helps to stop self-denial.
Brief summary:
I enjoyed watching this film very much. It looked at 4 different artists, and mainly involved: sculpture, photography, installation, and film. Each artist had a different purpose in his or her work, much of it was very personal and there was emotional connection in each case. Art is so versatile, as was shown through this video. Each artist had some relationship to nature in their artwork. Some found meaning and inspiration from nature itself, and some went about their creation process by thinking of the ideas nature brings to life (last section with Mark Dion was more like this). Nature gives us shapes and sounds and this was used in detail by Indigo Manglano-Ovalle, who created sculptures based on the shape of nature's storms. Robert Adams choose to portray life-lessons and meaning as well as have his art hopefully speak out about the deforestation of trees. Each artist had skill and nuance is a certain craft, and each worked with their hands in some way. Robert Adams found comfort in working with wood, something he did as a little boy with his dad.
k;ak
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