The Artistic Urge from Prehistory to the Present.

I have been working on this painting today, I think it is finished, at least for now. I have continued to work in an automatic way, allowing my unconcious to speak, I have tried to create a flow between my heart and my hand without my analytical mind interfering.

Although I disagree with his attitude towards women, I think George Baselitz has a similarity of interest to me in this regard.

In a conversation with Henry Geldzahaler, Baselitz stated that “an automatism must necessarily exist to paint a picture, so that things that lie hidden can come to light” (Siegel 1998:95).

Siegel, J. (ed) (1988) ‘Conversation With Henry Geldzahler’ in Art Talk, New York: Da Capo.

Power argues that Baselitz is searching for the essence of existence and our primal origins. He is engaged with what has survived within us rather than romantically returning to the past.

Power, K. (1991) ‘Hanging Between Analysis and Chaos’ in D’Offay. A. (ed) George Baselitz. London: Anthony d’Offay Gallery.

Rosenthal suggests that the paintings of Baselitz “have a strong element of the ‘primitive’ within them” he states that this derives from “the raw and exposed handling of the paint” (Rosenthal 1991:15).

Rosenthal, N. (1991) ‘Recent Paintings by Georg Baselitz’ in D’Offay.A.(ed) (1991) George Baselitz. London: Anthony d’Offay Gallery.

In prehistoric art there is always a vocabulary of animals, figures and signs which show a substratum of metaphysical thinking. Prehistoric man thought abstractly. Power (1991) suggests that when we excavate things from the past it is surprising how contemporary they can be.

This painting of mine is now on display along with another of my paintings in a gallery called the Freudian Sheep, 104, St Helens St, Ipswich. Come along to the private view on thursday 1st May. from 5.30pm to 7.30pm.

I walked in on a life drawing class today and decided to stay. We did some movement drawings. I concentrated on mark making and my pictures reminded me of cave engravings where one image is superimposed over the other until they become hard to interpret.

David Lewis-Williams suggests that “representational imagary grew out of random markings”. The mark making came first, recognisable forms led to purposeful representation.

Lewis-Williams, D (2002). The Mind in the Cave, Thames and Hudson: London.

This is my work on display at the British Contemporary Painters exhibition at the Crypt Gallery, St Marylebone Rd, London. The exhibition runs until May 1st.

I started this painting yesterday. So far, I have used emulsion and pencil on the canvas. I think I was feeling quite calm and this shows in the painting. However at the moment I can see some ominous faces. It is not finished so it could change quite a bit yet, we will have to see how it turns out. At the moment I am quite pleased with the way it is coming along. I like the taupe against the gray blue and white.

Freud was concerned with inner life and saw the artistic product not as aesthetic object but as aesthetic experience. He states that audiences value images of a fused inner and outer reality highly.

Freud, S (1908) ‘Creative Writers and Daydreaming’ in Strachey, J (ed) (2001) The complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud volume IX. London: Vintage

Wollheim attributes to Freud the view that a work of art that fully engages us involves us in complex mental activities, which include efforts of mastery as well as regressive pleasure.

Wollheim. (1974) On Art and the Mind. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

Ricoeur suggests that we might think of aesthetic experience in terms of an alteration of dreaming and waking states.

Ricoeur, P. (1970) Freud and Philosophy: An Essay on Interpretation. New Haven and London: Yale University Press.

Wollheim (1974) implies by contrast that to be aesthetically engaged one must be fully awake.

Ernst Kris states that the artist’s inspired creativity involves a continual interplay between creation and criticism which is manifested in the painter’s stepping back to observe the effect. He suggests that this is “the shift in psychic level, consisting in the fluctuation of a functional regression and control” (Ernst Kris 1952:253) therefore the artist is his own audience whilst he works.

Kris, E. (1952) Psychoanalytic Explorations in Art. New York: International Universitys Press.

This piece of artwork has been selected for an exhibition entitled Contemporary British Painting. The exhibition runs from 29th Mar to 1st May at The Crypt Gallery, St Marlebone Church, London. Come and see me at the private view from 6-8pm on the 2nd of April.