The thing that drives me the most as an artist is the idea of universal connection. I believe we are all derived from the same single entity. I don't necessarily believe in a specific god that created us all, however I do believe that there is some sort of higher power and spiritual answer to the reason behind why we are all here. While I am very interested in and respectful of the scientific explanation of creation, I believe there is something more to it.
There is a universal language that is embedded in all forms of creation, and every once in a while we can feel it within us. I won't go into specifics of when this comes about, but I will say that when it is visible, it feels as though all things on this planet make perfect sense. In some aspects, art can be viewed as a form of universal language, because it is one subject that everyone can deeply understand without the use of words or text. What interests me is how an artist can share in the universal language through his/her art. How can one artist reach the souls of two different people who don't speak the same language as one another?
That last blurb is a little off the handle, but it is something that has always interested me. I really enjoy taking inspiration from books, and one of the books I feel I can always learn something new from every time I revisit it is Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist. At times I wish I could translate his thoughts and words into works of art, mainly because he summarizes many of my beliefs and thoughts about life.
I use abstraction to try to see things in a new perspective. This is obvious, because I'm sure that is many people's goal with abstraction. I just find it interesting to show something in a way that one may not have thought to look at it before now. That being said, here is something else that interests me...
Another thing that interests me as an artist, and this may seem to steer quite far away from the idea of universal connection, is the idea that through abstraction, different people may see the same thing in a different way. For instance, I did a project in STA375 where I made abstract images, posted them on Facebook (the unfortunate way of the world nowadays), and asked friends to post what they thought the images resembled or what they saw within the abstractions. My reasoning behind this was to show that everyone sees things differently and that our different opinions on things show that every mind is different.
So basically, I guess I have come to the conclusion that I am interested in two things:
1. The universal connection. How to portray the idea of meditation, spirituality, and connection through imagery.
2. Abstraction of representational imagery. Seeing different people's responses to an abstracted image in order to see how the mind works differently from person to person.
Not quite sure if anyone made it to the end of this rambling of mine, but if you did, I it was worth the 3 minutes of your life, and if it was or wasn't, please comment either way!
Some images that inspire me...
John Paul Caponigro
Edward Weston
Harry Callahan
