Abstract vs Abstraction

Abstract vs Abstraction

During the time spent teaching at the Waldorf high school, I have introduced the exercises of abstraction and also the abstract expression.

It was Piet Mondrian, who had differentiated the abstract art from other art forms resulting from abstraction.
I could relate to such differentiation, for abstraction is due to making of something which exist as a tangible form into more simpler form without losing the main characteristics of such form. It is the process of "reduction," so to speak. Many of Picasso's works may fall into this category. In other words, the abstraction art depends on the existence of the concrete form.

Abstract art, on the other hand, does not rely on the existence of an actual, concrete form. For example, an idea and/or one's feeling, can be expressed with color(s) and form(s).
What would an idea of "courage" look like if one were to paint it without depending on the scene of some heroic being fighting his/her enemies? How would one express the feeling of sadness or anxiety purely in color(s)?
In a way, pure abstract art may come close to the essence of what the artist wants to express. It is, indeed, the Socratic exercise.

Ironically for Mondrian, his process of arriving at his now famous pure geometrical forms may have been originated in the reduction/abstraction of the existing forms, say, the trees, for example.

"Honey, could you pass me a fork?"

("Honey, could you pass me a fork?")

If I tell you that such request could not have been possible during the time of Leonardo's last years in France, would you believe it?
The fact is that the forks were introduced to France by Catherine de Medici in 1533 when she married Henry II. That was 14 years after the death of Leonardo! It also seems that the forks were not widely used until 16th Century in "Italy." (http://www.hospitalityguild.com/History/history_of_the_fork.htm)

Now the question is: "How many of you have wondered what those people were using as the utensils instead of the forks?  Well, that seemingly very innocent and perhaps even imaginative inquiry may carry the bias/prejudice within. ...if we were to consider that the fork is the valuable object. Furthermore, if we were to even think (or feel) that those people back then were barbaric for not using(or even knowing about) the forks to eat, then the prejudice becomes evident. ...and this is one of the aspects of the human consciousness that we must be careful to observe and deal with when we are researching the human history.

I have already mentioned in the earlier blog that the study of the human history is the study of the history/evolution of human consciousness. The above example shows that what we possess as the modern/contemporary consciousness may not be the same in the different time periods. While we have the consciousness that involves the use of the cell phone to call someone and/or the laptop to send the email via internet to communicate globally, it is not the same consciousness of 50 years ago when the people communicated by using the telephone (land line) or sending the telegram. There were no consciousness of recycling (of the plastic) or car-pooling 75 years ago. 

What I mean by consciousness is much more than simply having the concept or awareness. It is something which is embedded much deeper into our psyche. It may also include the habitual way of thinking. Many of us may set the alarm clock to wake up on the certain time of the day. "To set the alarm clock to wake up" is the modern consciousness. Many of the painters would go to the art supply store to obtained the "paints in the tubes", while the painters during the Renaissance having no such consciousness, for they had to mix the pigments with the emulsion/vehicles to create their own paints. We can go on and on about the examples.

In order to get to know the era where Leonardo da Vinci had lived, we must first erase our memory and bring our consciousness as close to that era as possible. Moreover, depends on what part of Leonardo's biography we are going to research, we may even have to erase the part of our memory concerning Leonardo. In other words, if we are going to study about "The Last Supper," we have to imagine and consider the person who has not yet painted "Mona Lisa." We are educated, so we already know what Leonardo had done. We know of Leonardo as a person who had completed his biological/physical life. That in-itself may hider us from trying to know Leonardo who was still living. ...and in order to know about the contemporary world of Leonardo, we need to consider the civilization, the culture, the people, of that time having no knowledge about the world to come. The people who lived around the time when Leonardo had commenced the painting of "The Last Supper" (approx. 1495AD) mural did not know about the U.S.A, for Columbus had just re-discovered the continent a few years back. Raphael, who was only 12 years old then, was not yet known to the people as the great painter of Madonna and the child, and he had just lost his father a year before or so. Reformation (Protestantism)was unheard of. The people could not buy the printed Bible...so on and so forth... 

We must, in a way, forget everything we know since 1495 in order to be closer to the consciousness of the people back then. Also, we may have to forget the world history from other cultures (and/or the 'foreign cultures' all together), for the common people in that period/era were not necessary informed/educated enough to know what we already know of the ancient cultures, geography, mythologies, etc.

We need to see the world through their eyes and their consciousness.

We need to encounter them as if for the first time.

We must grow with them and walk along the path they are(were) treading.

Whenever I have taught the art/music history to my high school students, I have introduced the simple exercise. It has everything to do with the attempt to "erase the memory of the contemporary civilization/culture."

So, let us do the simple exercise. Close your eyes and sit comfortably. A little by little, by going backwards in time, try to erase the memory of what we know as "our" culture. Erase the laptops, iPods, facebook, cell phones, Academy Awards, sushi, psychoanalysis, cars, airplanes, televisions, radios, World Wars, light bulbs, steam engines, French Revolutions, Beethoven, Shakespeare, printed books, .... until you come to that particular era where people dressed in such and such clothes and did such and such for living, etc. Hold that scene in your mind. Look around you. Walk around the town. ...and be among them as one of them and not as the visitor...

Now, what do you see?

Fairness in judging the history

(Fairness in judging the history)

The study of the human history is far more complex than the study of the history of nature. It is the study of the history (evolution) of human consciousness reflecting the development of mental, intellectual, cognitive faculties (...and much more). It is also the study of both individual and collective human psycho-emotional development. Each era may gift us or challenge us in some new ways, and as a matter of fact, we may adopt/adapt to the new situation/ideas or reject them.

When we do the research, especially to do with the human history, first and foremost, it is essential to put ourselves in the shoes of the people of that ear/period. We need to be able to think and feel as the people of those eras might have done and not just transplanting ourselves (our contemporary mind) into those eras as we are.

As soon as we try to evaluate the history by applying our 20th/21st Century mentality/mind set, we are in danger of introducing something very foreign to the historical period(s) in question. We may be unwittingly introducing the bias, prejudice, and/or values only relevant to us.
During our century, we have been awakened/re-awakened (introduced )to the many new ideas through the different movements. Within the artistic movements alone, the people had to readjust our ideas about art.

For example, we are too educated and informed compared to the majority of the common people in the 15th Century Europe, the time of Leonardo da Vinci. Back then, Italy was not yet united as an independent country as we know today. Although the illiteracy maybe the problem today, back then, it was far worse.

In the coming blog, I will introduce one of the exercises I have done with my students.

International Exhibition 2010 Surrealism Now

(SURREALISM NOW)

I am very happy and honored to be included in this wonderful exhibition. My deep appreciation and congratulations to Santiago Ribeiro-san, Bissaya Barreto Foundation, and the fellow artists who are participating in this exhibition!   (Hikaru)

BISSAYA BARRETO FOUNDATION
 Surrealism Now, INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION
BISSAYA BARRETO MUSEUM HOUSE
SANT´ANNA CONVENT, COIMBRA, PORTUGAL, EUROPEAN UNION

Open 20th of May, 18:30,  until 30th of June 2010
Idealization and coordination: Santiago Ribeiro

Institutional support: Intervention Brigade

SURREALISM NOW
Bissaya Barreto Foundation
Idealization and coordination: Santiago Ribeiro
Institutional support: Intervention Brigade

Exhibitions, Portugal, 20 May 2010
International Exhibition 2010 Surrealism NOW
The Bissaya Barreto Foundation will open to the public, on 20th May, at 18:30, an International surrealism NOW exhibition
The exhibition will take place in Bissaya Barreto Museum House and Sant´Anna Convent in Coimbra, Portugal, European Union.
Also online exhibition connected.


Participant artists:

Otto Rapp, Oleg Korolev, Daniel Hanequand, Ton Haring, Viktor Safonkin, Peter van Oostzanen, Hikaru Hirata, Patricia van Lubeck, Dean Fleming, Christhopher Klein, Sergey Barkosky, Larkin, Carlos Aguado, Sonja Tines, Gerardo Gomez, Lv Shang, Alessandro Bulgarini, Pedro Diaz Cartes, Elizabeth Pantano, Egill Ebsen,Octavian Florescu, Dan Lydersen, Pavel Surma, Krzysztof Wlodarski (Kali), Shahla Rosa, Sampo Kaikkonen, Miguel Ruibal, Jo Rizo, Ludmila, Lourenço Gonçalves, Sergey Tyukanov, Mehriban Efendi, Carlos Godinho, Victor Lages, Meme, Hector Pineda, Gromyko Semper, Slavko Krunic, Adam Scott Miller, Roland Heyder, Vu Huyen Thuong, Santiago Ribeiro, Keith Wigdor.
more:
Fernando Araujo, Carel Verelgh, Maciej Hoffman, Nadide Gürcüoğlu, Rui Cunha, Francisco Urbano, Mirek Antoniewicz, João Duarte, Nazareno Stanislau, Rudolf Boelee, Madrigal Arcia, Ignacio Casanovas, Dijana Iva Sesartic.

link: http://internationalexhibition2010.weebly.com/int-exh-2010-artists.html



During the Exhibition, slides of paintings will be viewed on LCD screens from artists taking part in online exhibition present in this site:
http://internationalexhibition2010.weebly.com/index.html


Also, during the Exhibition, a list of online participant artists will be shown.

"Checking In"

(Checking In)
 

The Thursday faculty meetings at the school (Shining Mountain Waldorf) I used to work, after I have joined the College of Teachers (the core faculty members), lasted about 6 to 7 hours. First, I would attend the High school meeting, and then I would go off to the all school meeting, and finally, I would attend the College of Teacher meeting. This last meeting may become longer if we had to meet with the Board of Trustees. We adopted the "Consensus decision -making" system, so that each one of us was responsible for our decision.

I've loved the High school meetings and the College of Teacher meetings. I cannot go into the details, but what I liked about these meetings is that we did the exercise called, "Checking In," in the beginning of each meeting.  

The faculty members were asked to share the mental/emotional state we were in that day (or that given moment) in the unique way, and we would go around answering.  The facilitator(s) would choose the metaphorical theme for that day and ask, for example, "What would your feeling(your mental state) be if your were to describe (express) it as the type of a flower?"  

I remember once, we've had to describe our feelings by referring to the lyrics from the classical rock music... and we had to sing the appropriate lines!
I like the fact that the creativity was actively incorporated into the otherwise "could be dry/cold" meetings. 

This may sound strange, but I miss those meetings from time to time even though some of the meetings were very intense!

So, how was your day like if you were to describe it as the shape of the cloud? ...mine?  It would be "Cirrocumulus cloud," high up in the atmosphere.

Leonardo da Vinci and his Notebooks

[Leonardo's notebooks]

I have already mentioned in the earlier blog post that one of the reasons why Leonardo wrote in the mirror imaged manner was due to the fact that it was kinetically natural and convenient for a left handed person as he was.

The notebooks may have been used to sketch out his thoughts with the words and the images, so he can re-read them, in case he has forgotten, so it was not in the finalized form.
Leonardo entrusted the notebooks to Melzi to be possibly edited and published as a sort of an encyclopedia.
The content has not always to do with the "secret" discovery nor the important ideas  for the inventions. It was used as the simple and elaborated memos. It contained the personal accounting information and the complaint about his adopted son, Salai, as well.

I feel that he was not worried about the contents being read, understood, or stolen, for not many had the genius/intelligence/imagination to keep up with his ideas. It was rather that the "misunderstanding" and the "misconception" of the content may have made him weary.

It is true that Leonardo's notebooks contained the images of the new weapons, the architectural renderings, and the engineering ideas. Those were not in the final form. In order for many of these larger projects to be carried out and manifested, he needed the backing from the people like the Duke who can supply the man power and provide the financial support, etc. To ask the Duke for such help, Leonardo needed to convince or persuade the Duke, and it had to be in the Duke's advantage; therefore, the presentation was crucial. The reason why Leonardo kept these notebooks-journals-memos to himself is very simple: the content is not in the final, complete, articulated form.
For someone to have the access to his unpolished, 'premature' writings would possibly be lead to the misunderstanding... especially if the one who is reading lacks the imagination and the intelligence.
Any smart writers would not share the plot of the thriller prematurely.
Not many comedians would tell a unpolished joke. It is normal to keep the ideas from the general public until it can be organized and made presentable. Even with such careful presentation, there are no guarantee that people would not misunderstand it.

{I usually do not show my sketches or my notebooks (There are many!) to the people. It is not because I am secretive or being afraid that some might be inclined to steal my ideas, etc. I just don't want my ideas to be prematurely disclosed and misunderstood.}

He may have hid his notes because it was not written well. Some scholars feel that Leonardo was not necessary gifted with the words. And they feel that ... (to be continued...)

Mona Lisa Smile and sfumato

"Mona Lisa Smile and sfumato"

Most of us have seen Leonardo's masterpiece, a painting known as "Monalisa/Mona-Lisa."
I am sure that some of you may even have heard of the term, "sfumato."   Leonardo has used this technique, and as you can see in his paintings, the effect of sfumato is wonderlous, for this technique allows the painter to blend the paints smoothly to create rather soft surfaces/forms rich in subtle gradation.
"Mona Lisa" is one of the best examples of  a painting where the sfumato technique is applied.

According to one definition, the word, sfumato, is derived from "fumare(to smoke)."
( http://arthistory.about.com/cs/glossaries/g/s_sfumato.htm )

However, do we know for sure what this technique is all about?

Although I have used ( what I have understood as ) the sfumato technique to paint my artworks, I still do not know exactly how Leonardo had used it in his paintings.

What type of brushes did he use? : sable?
What shape was the brushes? : flat? round? filbert?
What were the sizes of the brushes?

How hard/soft did he brushed against the painted surface?  (Had he brushed against the surface too hard, then the tiny fragments of the 'shaved' brushes should be mixed into the paints. Has any researchers found such fragments?)
What was the angle of the brush to the surface? :  30 degrees? 60 degrees?
What was the direction/movement of the brush stroke? :   zigzag? crossed? slanted (as in his sketches)? circular?
What was the speed of the brush stroke? rapid? slow?
Did he only use his left hand to apply sfumato?

etc, etc, etc...

I hope we can obtain the answer in the future.