Surviving Progress

Art is the purest form of communication, and only exists as it is experienced. It is infused within the soul of the artist, just as science is infused within the soul of the universe. Does man create art, or does art use man as a vehicle for its creation?

The many forms of art have two elements: image and pattern. While a pattern is identified with geometry, an image is said to have mystique. Yet to suggest that 'geo' (the Greek designation for earth) has no mystique is futile.

Hidden within every harmonious image is a pattern. Harmony can be defined as truth exposed, while futility lacks effectiveness. Mystique is exciting.

Patterns are the orderly placement of repetitive images. Balanced placement of images creates harmony. Consider the architectural elements of southern Spain, created from the early 700s to the late 1400s. It has been said that the precision of pattern induces calm.

Present in the world of art are two sides of the same coin: greed and desperation. Greed seeks to control, while the desperate seek freedom. Both fall vulnerable to futility.

For purposes of clarity herein, a piece of art will be referred to as a 'presentation', being a compilation of elements of a portrayal: That which is presented. What is experienced includes the viewer's perception. Therein lies the difference between art and excrement.

"Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar," regardless of the opinion of media critics.

'Balance' can be found in symmetry or asymmetry.

Asymmetrical design stimulates the mind as it searches for balance that is less obvious but still inherent in the presentation.

Symmetry calms the mind that seeks respite from the chaos of reality. To each the purpose of the design. The choice of composition lays the foundation.

The choice of hues within a composition can also impact the symmetry or asymmetry of a presentation. For example, the red coat in the presentation entitled "Shillinger's List' demonstrates intense asymmetry balanced by the expected response of the viewer. Illustrating perfect, if painful, harmony.

Indicative of the complex nature of today's world, color studies must include the categorization of the end use of color. Paint, dye, and ink each have unique primaries on the color wheel.

Viewers of daily news or not, none can escape knowledge of the chaos that reigns in the world. It is the fate of mankind that 'progress' only brings different challenges, since the day Eve presumably ate fruit from the tree of knowledge.

Given the gift of observation and curiosity, and spiritually, if not genetically descended from Eve, I have witnessed in excess of three-quarters of a century. That fact alone supports my ability to draw upon personal experience and the depth of my soul to mold my perception. I was a personal witness in 1949 to the failure of the Studebaker car to provide safety to passengers when I was thrown to the ground from a car traveling 50 mph on pavement.

My early environment was the desert, illustrated by the photo accompanying this article. Isolation fed the appetite for communication, which leads to the debate regarding the value of isolation of the artist, for another day.

Effort can be futile without the stain of failure. Each of us works with what we have, along with the rest of humanity. My most valued teacher was a person with Down Syndrome and an abundance of soul.

Everyone desires a portion of success, which can be defined as relevant effectiveness, providing a measure of reward. Even the talented are capable of futile efforts: The process of development to be embraced along with the potential for success.

Relevance is especially challenging today as so many are desperate to rise above the mob. How to be heard with white noise all around us? Can a woman be seen wearing a hijab in a coal bin? On what do we set our sights? What void exists to be filled in a crowded market?

Each individual is a unique ecosystem within their own environment. Each has a mind, however flawed. Each is imbued with the need for truth and harmony.

Art is the journey from chaos to harmony. The quest is to discover or create our own path.

All of nature requires balance for survival. Man is a creature of nature. The earth is not a gift to man for his use. Rather, man was created for the benefit of the survival of nature, including man himself.

Those who attended 'Sunday School' know how that worked out. Adam and Eve had one rule, which they broke at the earliest opportunity. Curiosity has more power than rules. The master knew the outcome. He had a Plan B.

The mission of mankind is to preserve harmony, with art among its vehicles. While science is integral, the results of scientific knowledge become tools for the mission.

Universal law tells us we can only perceive that which we already know, from a variety of sources.

Without science, there is no art. Without art, there is no need for science. Every great creation of man has roots in the discoveries of science.

Deconstruction of a process is one method for learning that exists. However, to make deconstruction the destination is akin to primary schools granting engineering degrees based on Lego play.

It is my personal theory that when Picasso created 'Guernica,' the genius lay in the presenting harmony dredged from the chaos of war. I suspect he had a sparse understanding of the science underlying what he had intuitively achieved.

Suppose that in an effort to repeat the success, he gave in to the temptation to create chaos from harmony, the reverse of that which resulted in 'Guernica.' Deconstruction.

A society in pain is vulnerable to accepting futility as truth. Consider 1939 followed WWI, the decimation of the population through the Spanish Flu pandemic, and the Great Depression, with the threat of another war looming. Desperate people want answers.

If Picasso, the genius, didn't have answers, who did? I think he inadvertently spawned a century of artistic deception. He himself is quoted as saying it took his whole life to learn to paint as a child. The demands of the art world lay heavily on him. Most, if not all, artists' livelihoods extend only until the next work is sold. The fortunes traded at sales of art treasures are rarely enjoyed by a living artist.

Deception is allowed to occur when 'ignorance' hands over the freedom to think to others, in exchange for a perception, if not the truth. According to Leonard Cohen, "I could not feel, so I tried to touch."

The challenge is for the soul of the artist to survive.

Some see Artificial Intelligence as a destination, rather than the tool without a soul that it is. Only the gullible or greedy will see A.I. replacing the artist. A mechanical device has value, but it will never replace the human mind, which is so much more than algorithms. How far we will allow our freedom to be chipped away remains to be seen.

Experience provided the richness of the writings of Hemingway. Yet today, we scoff at 'experience' as a learning process. "Only a fools pee on an electric fence." What else is science but the proof of theory? Validation comes through testing and experience.

In this era of extremes, will the future hold another 'dark age' or a new renaissance? It is our choice.

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