How do your day-to-day activities, interactions and routines condition your opinion making? It is easy to assume that opinions, tastes, are trenchant, deep-rooted and seldom changed. How can they be affected by the physicality of our lives though?
For example: I am able to jot down thoughts quickly as I have a minor facility with the use of a computer – does this mean that I can think fast? – Well in quantifiable terms I suppose I could say that I do - as an outcome would be something like this blog. The thoughts often come as I am typing. Are the thoughts of any merit? Well I could be devil’s advocate and say they are probably hurried ones – percolated maybe but fully conceived perhaps, not yet. Change my routines, my pace and would my whole mind set, sense of values etc change accordingly? How far would I need to change to see the consequence in my outlook? Would this outlook change at all? – Am I already “me”? And if so how did I get to be me? , And not another me? What makes me want to make the Art I want to make? All art one makes is after all ones own art – in whatever form it takes. No need to second guess your “style” – better to try to redefine your language through your work.
I have only a seed of an idea here and as I am typing I am hoping that it will germinate into a reasoned opinion (on a sticky wicket already then). The rise of computers has been a consequence of a general speeding up of our lives. Slowness is seen as a sign of weakness; hesitation is frowned upon. How quickly my thoughts and ideas are formed is I wonder correlated in some proportionate way to the variety of physical, emotional and intellectual stimuli I receive. Do a lot of varied things and you get a lot of varied thoughts. Is the nature of twenty first century living actually preventing a deeper more reasoned thought process from occurring though? - Creating this variety with quick on your feet thinking, skimmed reading, superficial interactions – yet are we decreasing our humanity in our thirst for speed and progress? Are we jacks-of-all-trade people and masters of nothing? Supermarket beings.
We seem to respect the contemplation life-style of the exotic monk – but is it only out of a begrudged –unconsciously acknowledged even- respect for the metaphysical space which they as an example seem to have as a result of slowing down their daily routines? Maybe that is how we want to perceive someone like this vicariously providing qualities that we would like: staying on one thing for longer, having fewer things around you and more time for each of these things. “Keep it simple do it well” is something that I have always chimed on about to pupils I have taught. I need to take heed myself frequently.
And what for painting? I know from bitter experience that you need constant work to make any progress. Witness the rise of “statement” art – Objects juxtaposed in quirky ways, ideas and notions often skilfully made, but ending up as merely that – a skilfully made idea devoid of any Art content – every other content yes but Art, no. Worse still painting that adopts a prima-facie technique (usually a hacked up brushstroke), and goes on to ‘illustrate’ some pointless theme. I can’t feel any sense of affinity for an art form that has no questioning of its making at its heart. And questioning takes time and a great deal of effort – put it simply it is bloody hard work. Most art seen in galleries is perfect for today’s lifestyle, quick, easy to digest, shocking in narrative – as if this is the way to wake us up from a perceived state of indifference. Maybe indifference is born out of haste – everything is “easy” to achieve – or at least seems easy – we don’t need to wait for anything – In fact we get a little unsettled in moments of silence – better to ‘do’ something. I feel I am slowing to a halt in this entry so I’d better read it back to myself and see where I’ve got to and see if I can conclude in some punchy way…..