Zen of Creativity Chapter 7

[Cooperix]

Kotei,

I think you are right, JDL wanted to capture the essence of ROCK. But I ask, is that possible? Can we really ever be totally objective in our creative moments. We bring so much of ourselves into each moment. I wonder?

I personally enjoy art, that is kind of a koan itself, not so much separated from its surroundings.

This quote got me thinking. Viewing art is very much like receiving a koan. Art should be examined without intellect, thought or expectation to be really seen. ('Forgetting the Name of the Thing One Sees'). Just viewed with fresh, beginners eyes... Ah. Not so easy to achieve but so revealing. Any thoughts on how best to look at art?

Gassho

Anne

~lahst~

[Kotei]

Hello,
here is my take on the prompt for Chapter #7

https://youtu.be/vJks7QBVSis

It is about the idea, the spark, that lights a small flame.
The unnatural 'in vitro' situation of thinking about the critique and viewers while still creating.
And what happens to the flame in the end, when implementing with such a closed mindset.
BREATHE!

Gassho,
Kotei sat/lah today.

[Meitou]

Hello,
here is my take on the prompt for Chapter #7

https://youtu.be/vJks7QBVSis

It is about the idea, the spark, that lights a small flame.
The unnatural 'in vitro' situation of thinking about the critique and viewers while still creating.
And what happens to the flame in the end, when implementing with such a closed mindset.
BREATHE!

Gassho,
Kotei sat/lah today.

Wow Kotei, that felt very surreal, like watching a Luis Bùnuel film, I loved it.
I think we agree, thoughts of the critique and the audience have to be dropped during the creative process - I think we need to be true to ourselves first and foremost.
Thanks for this perspective.
Gassho
Meitou
sattoday

[Meitou]

Any thoughts on how best to look at art?

Gassho

Anne

~lahst~

Anne - million dollar question and a can of worms to be opened. This merits an entire thread of its own.

I'm fine looking at non-abstract art and sculpture because I recognise what I'm looking at and my way of looking at it is trying to find something in the artists interpretation that isn't just a perfect life-like rendering of, for example, an apple; or something that looks exactly like a photograph, which we see so much of now. I'm convinced that in many cases I've seen online, that the 'drawings' are in fact drawn over photographs but that constitutes another huge question - what is art? And when is something 'copying', another big one for me, because I was taught at art school never to copy from photographs and although I may be a Luddite, this still is a valid argument for me. So I feel I'm on safe ground with figurative representation.
It's when I get to abstract representation that this old argument presents itself - should my understanding of how I look at a piece be complimented by an artists explanation , or should I look at a piece as it is, without any explanation or knowledge of what the artist's intent is? Is there a right or wrong here? If an intellectual leap can only be made with an explanation does this mean that art is inclusive of everyone - because anyone should be able to understand it, or does it mean the opposite?
More questions than answers I'm afraid, but I'd love to hear what the rest of you think as this has been ( without me realising it) a koan that has accompanied me throughout life.
Bows,
Meitou
sattoday

[Cooperix]

Boy Kotei, that about sums it up! If we let the viewing, judging masses become our masters the air is all sucked out of the room!
Thanks for that splendid piece.

And Meitou, yes lots to think about and maybe we should make it a topic of its own. I'll be thinking about how I look at artwork.

Bows
Anne

~st~

[Kotei]

Thank you both.

Meitou, Bùnuel and I together in one sentence is a bit too much of honour, but thank you anyway.
Mentioning him brought back the eye and razor scene from "Un Chien Andalou".
The eye prosthetics, I used are from around 1945 and originally made for returning WWII soldiers.
I collected around 100 of them for a possible Avalokiteshvara project... We'll see...

I don't think, that there is the one method, how I am looking at art.

Sometimes, experiencing the piece is enough.
Often, I welcome additional information after having my time with the koan.
Especially with contemporary/modern art, I like having a guided tour on a second visit.

Sometimes, an explanation, the life and work of the artist or the environment is essential part of the work.

Like Beuys, pumping honey and moving fat installation, that can't easily be understood without knowing his concept of social sculptures and the reference to the working, creating people on the other side of the wall.

Room filling waves of lead, that had been melted and formed inside the room they were displayed in.
I needed to be told, that it's about the relation of the artwork and the environment, it is displayed in.
Moving the artwork to a different environment means altering/destroying it.

Pictures, that are part of a dialogue between different works and artists in different locations are without much of a meaning when viewed alone.

Gassho,
Kotei sat/lah today.

[Meitou]

Thank you both.

Meitou, Bùnuel and I together in one sentence is a bit too much of honour, but thank you anyway.
Mentioning him brought back the eye and razor scene from "Un Chien Andalou".
The eye prosthetics, I used are from around 1945 and originally made for returning WWII soldiers.
I collected around 100 of them for a possible Avalokiteshvara project... We'll see...

I don't think, that there is the one method, how I am looking at art.

Sometimes, experiencing the piece is enough.
Often, I welcome additional information after having my time with the koan.
Especially with contemporary/modern art, I like having a guided tour on a second visit.

Sometimes, an explanation, the life and work of the artist or the environment is essential part of the work.

Like Beuys, pumping honey and moving fat installation, that can't easily be understood without knowing his concept of social sculptures and the reference to the working, creating people on the other side of the wall.

Room filling waves of lead, that had been melted and formed inside the room they were displayed in.
I needed to be told, that it's about the relation of the artwork and the environment, it is displayed in.
Moving the artwork to a different environment means altering/destroying it.

Pictures, that are part of a dialogue between different works and artists in different locations are without much of a meaning when viewed alone.

Gassho,
Kotei sat/lah today.

Yes Kotei, this is exactly what I'm talking about - knowing the artists intention can only enhance our experience of the work, this has been true in my experience too. I just wonder though what I might make of something if I have no explanation - I can certainly still enjoy it, or dislike it come to that. I might even think I understand it, or at least understand what it means to me. But if my understanding is totally different to the artists intention - is that still ok? I worry about being 'wrong', I suppose I feel a little intimidated and frightened of making a fool of myself.

I realised too that I hadn't followed up this prompt. I did sit down with the empty pages and I filled them - in fact in two days I filled an entire sketchbook. I poured some ink, took up my brush and made simple marks, working quickly. I stayed present with what I was doing but didn't overthink it, stopping as soon as I sensed the marks were complete. I attempted to approach all that space with a different mindset and as I moved through the book, it really did work. It was interesting to note that as soon as I started to attach ideas or aims to what I was doing, the tension between brush and page returned, so I deliberately kept moving, telling myself that I had plenty more sketchbooks, paper, and ink, so I could be as free as I wanted. I was really pleased with the outcome. I wasn't sure how to present it here, I wanted to make a slide show but it always takes so long to do and upload, so I photographed some of the pages and present them here in small collages.

Gassho
Meitou
sattodaylah

New Phototastic Collage.jpg

second collage .jpg

Gassho
Meitou
sattodaylah