The technique highlights how the
viewer of a painting or piece of visual art is also the artist of
the piece. Like when one is reading – the visual world of the reader is ignited
and guided by the author, but the ultimate story comes alive, uniquely, within
each reader. Art too, though the physical art piece is right in front of the
viewer, comes alive, uniquely, within each viewer --- each
reader/viewer interprets stimuli through their own unique dictionary of
terms, judgments and reactions. I have started the series by touching on basic
painting subject matter i.e. portrait, still life, landscape, cityscape,
seascape etc. and am moving through artistic movements, specific famous
paintings, iconic painters, expanding into iconic images and characters
-- from any realm, historical period and events. All the while
using less and less words within the painting.
Ultimately, demonstrating how a word or name is defined within the
viewer themselves. And that the mind can become so quick to define
a visual stimuli (aka: make an assumption) that the viewer no longer takes the
time to actually “see” and “process” or experience what is actually,
physically in front of them. The mind is painting a whole
scene within the viewer that is full of emotion, feeling and evoking an
experience that actually has little to do with the actual moment. The viewer is
just standing in front of a painted white canvas hanging on a wall...
A canvas that has a few marks of ink
on it...
Marks of ink that happen to be in
shapes of what our culture has all agreed upon: to stand for a
sound...
Symbols our mind’s have recognized
when put together make, what we define, as a word...
These words stand for defined
concepts (and when spoken, make familiar sounds or when read, silently or aloud,
trigger a picture/experience within the mind and ultimately within the body of
the individual).
Depending on the subject matter of
the series painting, the trigger can be quite evident.
This awareness is possible for the
viewer, because the viewer can see that the canvases in front of them offers
them so very little and yet the viewer is experiencing something quite
profound.
Ultimately, through the end section
of the series, the viewer is offered the opportunity to realize that they
are the actual artist of all of the paintings they've seen, the realization
can be quite expansive... often lighting smiles and laughter. Quite
beautiful.
