Quotes

INSPIRATION

“Colour /kúller/ n. & v. 1 a the sensation produced on the eye by rays of light when resolved as by a prism, selective reflection, etc., into different wavelengths.” The Oxford Dictionary

Colour relationships have energy of their own. An infinite variation of shades and their combinations create scope for visual language that displaces time. It’s not just the immediacy of visual language, but the depth with which it speaks that continues to captivate. Even more intriguing is our own personal response to what we see; each human being will have their own unique reaction to a particular colour. There will be a broad correlation in terms of emotional responses and associations, nevertheless, we all have our own point of view that is true for us. What potentials then! Variations in light waves, and how we perceive them, present us with opportunity to create into infinity, a science lab of unimaginable proportions.

Like sound, colour can be combined harmoniously or disharmoniously with equal effect and potential to tug on the emotional strings. Combinations of both harmony and discord in varying proportions define the character of the work.

“Consonance can be roughly defined as harmonies whose tones complement and increase each others’ resonance, and dissonance as those which create more complex acoustical interactions (called ‘beats’). A simplistic example is that of ‘pleasant’ sounds versus ‘unpleasant’ ones. Another manner of thinking about the relationship regards stability; dissonant harmonies are sometimes considered to be unstable and to ‘want to move’ or ‘resolve’ toward consonance. However, this is not to say that dissonance is undesirable. A composition made entirely of consonant harmonies may be pleasing to the ear and yet boring because there are no instabilities to be resolved.” Róisín Murphy ‘Overpowered’ CD sleeve.

The ‘resolve toward consonance’ could be a metaphor for life; the yin yang principle of establishing ‘stability’ or balance feels very familiar. One could, in theory, continue perfecting the same painting forever, but where’s the fun in that? Like Brooke McEldowney’s comment, “A work of art…is never really finished; it is abandoned.” The point of abandonment of the work happens at the precise moment where the discord comes into balance or achieves relative resolve; like a story, there is enough mystery to keep us interested, but not so much as to give us a headache.

Abstract art is such an extraordinary medium*; non-linear, it belongs to the realms of higher dimensions, a gift sent to us from the future. A painting can convey such complex, yet subtle emotion. Being in the presence of Cy Twombly’s Nini’s Painting really brought this home; an envelope of such sorrow, and yet there appears to be a feint glimmer of hope, even transcendence.

The canvas is a mirror we hold up to ourselves, and then the world. Artists capture their own reality at a particular moment in time, and with this very act, there is a transformation, another little piece of us transmutes from lead to gold. We are never the same again and neither is our painting. This may be one reason why discussing the paintings themselves is so challenging; in terms of the human spirit, it represents what was, not what is. The medium of abstract art offers us a microscope on life, an opportunity to examine closely our interior and exterior worlds simultaneously, with focus and resolve. It’s a way of uniting ourselves with what is.

“I have a mind to confuse things,

unite them, make them new-born,

mix them up, undress them,

until all light in the world

has the oneness of the ocean,

a generous, vast wholeness,

a crackling, living fragrance.”

Final stanza from Too Many Names by Pablo Neruda.

Photographs by Ian Phillips-McLaren

* medium; “the intervening substance through which impressions are conveyed to the senses etc. (light passing from one medium to another).” The Oxford Dictionary