The Artistic Urge from Prehistory to the Present.

It’s nearing the time of our degree show and so we will have to repaint all the walls and floors. I feel almost sad that I will have to hide the splats of paint I’ve made on the floor in the process of creating my work. I think they tell a story and are almost an artwork in themselves. There is special quality to accidental markings.

This painting is finished, I used more oil paint, then applied some water based emulsion thinking it was gloss, this is obviously not a good combination so I washed it off with water. I think the accidental smudgyness which has resulted is quite successful. In “Prehistoric art” (1998:xiii), Paul G Bahn states that art is a “deliberate communication through visual form….. an expression of group mentality and of an artists inner world”. I agree that art is an expression of an artists inner world and that it is a deliberate communication, however the method can be quite intuitive and accidental.

In “Psychological Aesthetics” (2001:8), David Maclagan suggests that as well as the the artists psychological experience being translated into paint, “the actual aesthetic features of a painting, such as its pressure of line, density of colour, coherence or incoherence of form- have their own independent psychological contribution to make”. He states that a painting can become the “arena for an exchange between the supposedly subjective dimension of the spectators experience and the works actual external features. The exchange is a reciprocal one where each is modified by the other” (Maclagan 2001:11). Therefore if a viewer is willing to enter into the painting they may be able to experience what the artist was trying to communicate whether this was a concious message or an unconscious one, or they may be influenced in a different way due to their own experience and reaction to the aesthetic elements of the painting.

I am going to call this painting “Laguz” which is the name of a rune meaning “Water”. Water is the symbol of the unconscious and invisible life forces. All of life is dependent on water, and therefore Laguz represents the universal ocean, the supreme unity of all life: past, present and future. The substance of Laguz is everywhere present, pervades all things and underlies all manifestation. It is the living energy out of which everything is made. It sustains and enriches any idea that is projected into it.

Without noticing I have followed in Cy Twombly’s footsteps with my obsession with drips. I recently felt the need to revisit the artists that I was originally looking into, the artists whom I felt had similar interests in the primitive and raw mark making which links us to our ancestors. I was originally looking at Cy Twombly’s early work which has a lot of space and pencil markings. I had not consciously noticed his later works. I was surprised to find that I had in fact not moved away from the vein of contemporary art that held my interest. My art had strangely progressed in the same way. These paintings are not dissimilar to my own, and although Cy Twombly is an accomplished master beyond his time, its strange that I have followed a similar path unaware.

I made a wooden frame for this painting, It was really awkward to keep the painted board in position in the groves of the frame. One side would pop out as I eased the other side in. I made a second square board and frame which you can see in the background, I has yet to be painted. I made it in a fraction of the time which shows how quickly you can learn from your mistakes.  I’m relieved the frames are both done and ready for a coat of paint. I think I will use the same white as the drips on the surface of the painting.