S
P A C E
It
is
Intriguing...
Informative (even in the absence of information)
b e g u i l i n g
...
it is an artist's most understated tool for expressing message and emotion.
Space in the mind and on the canvas is pregnant with possibility. It is the
promise of something more. Space is the hidden but implied message that is
defined by the surrounding elements.
Many
years ago, I went to a retrospective show of Mark Rothko's color field
paintings. In most circumstances, these paintings are shown individually but
for this particular show, they were hung chronologically. The very theory of
color and space and shape conveying the powerful emotions of Rothko's torment were
so available in this setting. It was the hidden message in the space between
the works that was compelling – the empty wall space that led you to the next
work and the next revelation of the inner conversation within the painter’s
mind.
Lately
I have been listening to a lot of music on my headphones in an effort to create
a free space in my mind. The music occupies an image free area but generates it’s
own image. My painter's brain solves the problem by combining the random images
with the design on which I am currently working. This is one part of the
creative process. Throughout the process my mind needs the S P A C E to think,
to breathe, to sigh it's way into a relaxed state of inspiration. Similar to dreaming
while awake (not to be confused with daydreaming.)
Emotion
is another element that takes up space in my work and my mind. It needs to be
directed or I find it difficult to creatively problem solve. Emotion expands
and creeps into space even when you think it is not there. Rothko's paintings
are a good example of harnessing powerful emotion and infusing it into the
creative decisions he made as a painter. The work grabs you and insists that
you feel as you view. It is undeniable what emotions are being conveyed because
of the impeccable use of the space, color, and emotion along with a cultural
and psychological reference. Through it all, space is the container – it gives
room for the color to expand and enfold you into it’s spell. It is in a word,
"beguiling."
Space
to think. Space to create. Space to process artistic challenge. I am trying to
be conscious of the spaces in my mind and what I fill them with because
eventually it will all find a path into my work.
