A Taste of Brexit

         

                     The recent elections for the European parliament have been understood within the U.K. as a kind of long awaited reckoning for the major political parties over the handling of brexit. In the aftermath of the election there has been much talk about the failure of the governing conservatives to have a strong showing. Their support has been siphoned off to give a convincing win for Nigel Farage’s upstart no-deal probrexit party. 

                      While the conservatives clearly sustained the heaviest losses in this election, they were almost equally matched in losing by their main opponents: the Labour party.  The blood-letting for the two main parties was to be expected considering the road show spectacle of all things brexit.

                      Since the referendum which began this slow motion descent into political purgatory, both parties have been at a loss as how to proceed with brexit.  The conservative party has been divided in deciding how far the split with the European union should go: should it be a complete removal from all European treaties, followed by a renegotiation of particular deals that it would prefer to have with the European union; or should it be a partial split that would keep Britain in many of the preexisting European treaties involving trade and freedom of movement.  Adding into the brexit drama, it has been said that the former position would cost the country billions of pounds and cause severe hardships throughout British society, whereas the later position would keep Britain within the sphere of European control and thus negate the entire purpose of leaving the European Union. 

                      The difficulties for the conservatives in delivering brexit are obvious when it is clear that the party is divided in its view as to how to proceed with brexit.  Consequently, Nigel Farage’s new party has easily benefited when it has presented voters with a clear vision of a no deal brexit.

                     The most fascinating conundrum for those watching brexit unfold is the position of the Labour Party, or rather, lack of position.  The referendum which began brexit resulted in a near 50% split in voters supporting and opposed to brexit. The Labour Party, as the main opposition party to the conservatives that supported brexit, rather than offering a clear political alternative for the half of the country that opposed brexit, decided to support the idea of brexit.  As a result many third tier parties have gained an uncharacteristic level of support in the current European elections for the evident reason that they all oppose brexit.  

                     Interestingly, while Nigel Farage’s win as most popular single party is being celebrated as a sign that the people of Britain are demanding the brexit they voted for and have had enough with the politicians that seem incapable of delivering it; as the percentages of support for all parties in opposition to brexit are added together it becomes clear that a majority of the vote in this recent election was in fact against brexit.  With this in mind it becomes absurd that the main opposition party should not be clearly anti-brexit.

                     As a further development, Labour has finally reluctantly agreed that it will support a second referendum to allow the people to decide what the politicians have obviously been incapable of deciding on their own.

                       As anticipation of record setting negative results for the conservative party in this election prompted the Prime Minister to offer her resignation, it has come time for new leadership in the Labour Party as well. 

                      As demonstrated by Nigel Farage’s unprecedented win, the great lesson from this election should be that the people expect their leaders to have clear positions.

Anathema, the Project

        The motivation behind this project is simple: to present a series of art works in the form of an exhibition which illuminates the concept of the ambiguous nature of our nations, our history, our individualism, and the public personalities of the people who have shaped our world.  The impetus for this project has come from living in a period of time where society has seemly taken a step backwards, becoming less cohesive and more fractured; where groups stand categorically in opposition to their opponents with a zero sum mentality informing the dialectic; ironically, each group seemingly views itself as having moral authority and absolute possession over some absolute truth, and yet this happens in the era of “fake news” where perception is more important than fact.  Viewing this period from a side, it seems that most opposing groups are not truly trying to achieve a result in the pursuit of an ideal, but rather to see their opponents lose. The desire to simply win at any cost has become the cause of an increasing divide between all segments of society, having led to a situation where vital issues and real problems which all people face go unresolved from a lack of cooperation.  In this context, in recent times, issues surrounding nations, history, and individualism have become flash points for conflict with various sides taking extreme positions. Again from the side, looking on at this situation, only the ambiguity of these issues stands out; the lack of anything absolute is really their chief characteristic. When the ambiguity of these issues is realized, that each issue can actually be viewed in multiple ways, that each group can actually be equally right and wrong at the same time, the basis for a deep and un-amicable argument dissipates.  It thus becomes the motivation for this project to show the ambiguity in these issues, black and white, good and evil simultaneously, without taking anyone’s part in any argument. The project seeks to provide in its limited fashion, an example of why there is little need for our current conflict, but rather the simple need to acknowledge that while one may have his or her personal view that may be very correct, others may also have their own which may be equally correct.

Anathema Photos

        The series of photos represented in this exhibition attempt to visually portray several aspects involving the interplay between the individual and national identity. The photos utilize the model sometimes as the personification of the national spirit, while in other shots, as an individual member of a society. The images shift from a common national identity that may give the individual an added degree of pride, to the Individual feeling a sense of shame and repression from that very same shared identity. In some cases the modern society is represented as being chained by its past history, while in others the individual is restrained by the national identity.  The themes here are the individual; the nation; pride and shame; and to be enriched or suppressed by our national identity.  

Anathema Paintings

        The 10 paintings representing the core element of the exhibition are composed of portraits of historical figures who in some way played important roles in the shaping of their nation’s destinies; these personalities in one way or another had the uncommon dilemma of choosing between their personal interests or those of their nations, in all cases the consequences of their choices, and how they followed them, became our common history. The figures represented in these paintings have all undergone the unique transition from individual human being into that of a symbol representing a concept or idea, in many cases the symbol each represents has been inverted in its significance depending on the observer as many of these figures have been lauded by one group while despised by another. 

        The primary visual technique utilized in the construction of the paintings has been duality. In composing the paintings from multiple images I have sought to portray more complex ideas than would be ordinarily conveyed by the simple production of a portrait of one of the personalities represented.  This visual play of duality also mirrors the philosophical ambiguity many of these figures embody as a result of their place in our history.

Dissonance Paintings

        Traditionally embedded in the idea of portraiture in painting is the aspiration to step beyond the mere reproduction of physical likeness and to give visual expression to the hidden characteristics of personality which animate the physical form. The desire to represent these ephemeral traits points to an innate understanding by artists that knowledge of the interior life of a living being is absolutely essential if an accurate likeness is to be made. The inner territory of the psyche is so broad and complex as to have solicited the creation of its own science dedicated to its study. Among the various schools of psychology, the Jungian school’s delineation of the “collective unconscious” provides one the most compelling theories covering the totality of the development of the individual personality and its integration into the broader context of society. Within Jungian psychology arises the concept of dissonance, an idea which is also present in the theory of quantum mechanics and music. “Dissonance paintings” is presented as a visual metaphor for these theories and is an attempt to more forcefully explore the dynamic possibilities offered through painting portraiture by exploring the coexisting contradictions of the human psyche.

        A painting is only paint placed on a supporting structure; a portrait painting is the result of this technique with the added ambition of depicting the likeness and/or the personality of the subject. Throughout the history of art, artists have studied and developed techniques in painting and in portraying human anatomy to reproduce an accurate likeness of their subject. However, the greatest portrait painters have gone beyond the “truthful” representation of the sitter’s physical features and have often added intangible touches from the psychological depths of their sitters’ personalities, and in so doing have created far more “accurate” representations that seem to truly capture the sitter and place them eternally within the portrait’s frame. In more recent times as the world, and artists in particular, have come to recognize more generally the importance and relevance of psychology, greater emphasis has been placed on representing this inner world when creating a portrait. The emphasis has become so great that many times the physical representation is all but completely incoherent as the desire of the artist is to show “how the subject really is” rather than “how the subject looks like”.

        Jungian psychology offers a valuable vision of the development of the individual personality as well as its integration within and inter-relation to the larger world. The individual personality is described as being within a continual process of development which begins at birth and continues until death through a series of clearly defined stages. Jung gives this process the name “individualization”. Jung technically describes this process as the individual’s struggle to integrate elements of the “collective unconscious” into his own personality in his own very particular way; the result of which is the formation of a personality which is unique to itself but which then also integrates itself back into its own particular place within the larger context of society. The theory describes this process as being one of periodic crisis within the psyche as contradictory and paradoxical aspects of the developing personality and the collective unconscious come into contact; each conflict is resolved when the individual learns to assimilate and reconcile the contradictions into his personality. The nature of such a conflict can be defined by the word “dissonance”.

        The concept of dissonance arises in various fields of human activity, such as quantum mechanics, music and psychology. In quantum mechanics dissonance is referred to in the theory of “complementarity”, when within a system there are two contradictory elements which in principle exclude each other when taken individually , and yet must be taken together to describe the entire system as a whole. In general psychology, the condition of a patient holding one or more contradictory beliefs or ideas in their mind at the same time is referred to as cognitive dissonance. In music, dissonance is used in reference to “unstable” chords which sound disharmonious, though energetic, suggesting the need for “resolution”. By extension, it is possible to suggest a corresponding visual parallel: visual dissonance, when two contradictory or paradoxical images are combined in equal measurement to produce a compound image.

        “Dissonance paintings” is an attempt to represent the concepts of psychological and visual dissonance in one unified form in a series of 10 portraits. If a typical portrait represents the subject with one image depicting the physical form of the sitter, the accuracy of which is supplemented by the addition of some intimation of the psychology which animates the subject; here the aim is to metaphorically present the dissonant mental states that make up one’s inner life and supplement this with some intimation of the physical characteristics which are animated by this inner life. Practically, each painting is a double image, each constituent image representing a particular emotional or mental state. Each constituent image contradicts or is in dissonance with its partner, together they unite equally into a new composite image which is intended as a kind of “portrait of the psyche”.

        Through the history of art, man’s fixation with himself becomes obvious; through psychology it is possible to see in his obsession for self-representation, the greater need to understand himself and make sense of his own inner world. From such a need art has pushed constantly to find more profound and complete ways to represent the totality of what an individual is. Through psychology we have come to realize that the contradictions and paradoxes within us are essential to the development of who we are as individuals as well as for the eventual integration of the individual into the larger context of society. As such, the basis of “Dissonance paintings” is the desire to continue in this artistic tradition while illuminating the essential importance of the inner contradictions and paradoxes that truly describe who we are.

The 12th House

        Periodically the moment arrives when it is necessary to step back from external action, to isolate ourselves and examine what is happening in our own internal universe. The distancing experienced in such a moment may not be a conscious choice, but rather a forced confinement that we may consciously find frustrating.  In either case, the period may serve a very real and meaningful purpose in understanding ourselves; where we have been, where we are, and where we would like to go. As a preponderance of silence may make an incidental ambient sound seem like a thunder-clap, this period of isolation may be highlighted with increased awareness of psychological under-currents, an increasing understanding of hidden problems or latent talents; these hidden elements of the psyche may reveal themselves by means of symbolic manifestation. A mundane object, normally over-looked, may suddenly become extremely fascinating as it strikes a chord in the observer, so much so that it seems impossible that the importance of the object was ever over-looked in the first place. This fascination is a derivative of deep intuitive calculations pushing up through the strata of personality, coming into contact with the conscious mind. The fascination lasts until the hidden symbolism represented by the object is brought into clarity and its significance unified with the conscious personality. There is much in this process that may be viewed as painful or inopportune, everything from the isolation to the actual confrontation between the conscious mind with the subterranean mysteries revealing themselves through “psychological tricks” such as self sabotage or the perception of misfortune as an active agent in one’s life. The Crisis becomes a spiritual crucible for a much more evolved, self-integrated human being; problems confronted and resolved, hidden abilities un-covered and harnessed.

         Such an occurrence is a deeply personal event for an individual, but may also be said to occur on the level of a society itself. It is possible then to provide as a metaphor the case of an individual in the attempt to illuminate the same process on the level of society. If such a metaphor is given, then the relevance may transcend the immediacy of empathy for the individual and be used as a stimulant for the extrapolation of the concept to the level of society; “from a drop of water an ocean may be inferred”.

        Directly, this exhibition presents a cross-section of such a period, rendered in materials which are familiar to the arts: oil on canvas, music and video. There is no greater explanation to offer than that what is presented comes directly from such a period just described, each element with its own particular personal significance, painful and ultimately liberating. The force of movement here is from dark to light, from ignorance to understanding, from intuition to rational comprehension. The images presented are not intended to literally describe this phenomenon to underline the concept; rather they are the actual mementos which are left in the wake of such a process. 

Ex Nihilo

       

          

          An art exhibition often is titled with some clever or interesting name which succinctly embodies the qualities and concepts being presented in the context of the exhibition. Title and concept are synonymous in many cases as the work of the artists and those who organize the event will focus on this title as a clear center from which they will derive the direction of their collective efforts. In the case of “ex nihilo” we have both a title and concept which would seem to apply itself to a romantic view that the artist by nature embodies an attribute more commonly reserved to God: that the artist creates his work ex nihilo, “from nothing”. As appealing as this idea may sound, it is completely false. No artist ever creates his work from nothing. His ideas or “inspirations” may “come” to him in what may appear to be “ex nihilo”, but they never are. The world the artist lives in, his experiences and the way these elements interact in his brain are the source of his “inspiration”, while the concrete application of these ideas is achieved through the filters of his natural predisposition to be an artist, his technical training, and his understanding of what art should be. All of these variables put into practice will produce an effect approaching the illusion of a conjuring trick, to make something appear from thin air. The idea of creation from nothing is romantic in its charm, but in this exhibition we do not need this.

         In the case of our presentation of "ex nihilo", we demonstrate an alternative meaning for this phrase. We enter the dialectic of art with an exhibition whose topics and presentation are at odds with what has most recently been presented in the same location and general frame of time, this has been done ex nihilo. When we also compare the work of the four artists in this exhibition to each other, and again as we proceed from one work to another, the entire context will change, ex nihilo. This exhibition is an alternative discourse, composed of divergent voices, presented ex nihilo.

Mixed

                                                An exhibition by Bogdan Aleksandrov 

     
           A diverse exhibition featuring mixed techniques, giving visual substance to the interplay between the shared public experiences and the personal interpretations of these realities. The diversity of technique includes contemporary painting in large format and in a series of 10 small works which unify into one rythmatic piece; a storyboard for video art in 15

units, realized in acrylic, pencil and marker on paper mounted on frames; a digital photograph

mounted on plastic panel; and 3 works of video art.

           The public spaces are governed by social convention and the enshrinement of these conventions in law; such conventions and legislation are based on the concept of a generalized common man, however there also exists an individual man who is constantly forced to operate in this social minefield. Such a man may be found in such diverse forms as

a terminally ill patient, dying in transit to the hospital, experiencing a moment that no man can truly appreciate, a moment that places the common man into the forced perception of a condensed reality, making him feel his individuality as it and our conventions are swept away

by the inescapable reality of impending death; the individual may also be found in the prisoner long since dead yet having left some trace of his existence in scratched markings in his cold stone cell beneath the ground in some ancient fortress, leaving some evidence of his personal reality while marginalized by empires and eons of rewritten histories; or in the drawings of a mentally handicapped child’s representation of infinity we may see this individual’s existence even as law tries to assimilate her into a broader definition of the common man. In all cases, there exists an uneasy interplay between the attempts of law or society to assimilate or rule these individuals and the reality that their experiences remain consistently outside the understanding of the common man.

            “Mixed” attempts to take several examples of the individual’s confrontation with society and translate them in condensed form into a visual presentation more readily accessible to society at large. The diversity of the exhibition allows for variations of taste and understanding while still challenging the spectator to venture farther afield and experience more than he or she would normally given that all is equal. “the physical manifestation, on a public landscape, of a personal space” is the representation of a mentally handicapped child’s personal interpretation of infinity made of Styrofoam panels arranged on a massive scale across the face of a tall building, presented in this exhibition in the form of a digital photograph mounted on plastic panel. “the contamination of a personal space by social dialogues in 10 examples” is the inversion of “the physical…”, here the child’s drawings are represented in the form of 10 small acrylic paintings, but these have been corrupted by the laws and generalizations of society entering her world by the juxtaposition of legal documents pertaining to the situation of the mentally handicapped in the European Union. “marking time” is a series of 9 small drawings made from stills taken from the video work “time, unmarked”, both works bringing focus to, and interpreting the markings of time left in the dank cells beneath an ancient fortress by inmates destined never to see the light of day again.

         The storyboard also presents 6 representations of an individual’s sensation of experiencing chaos which forms the basis for a new video work, this is presented in an aesthetic mode surrounding the “marking time” storyboard. Also presented are two large format acrylic paintings incorporating both the drawings of infinity by a mentally handicapped child and an absurd juxtaposition of an operating manual for vacuum cleaners and the even more absurd “instructions for ozone distribution in the European union”, the two paintings present the gulf that exists between her reality and that in which we occupy by reducing that distance and physically uniting their symbolic representations of those selfsame distances.

          Lastly, “2(pi)R”, portraying the final moments of a terminally ill patient making one last trip to the hospital in an ambulance; the video represents these moments, and suggests the drama and realizations of the patient through the humanization of one of the wheels of the stretcher on which she is laying, as it treks the distance between her apartment and the hospital.

How to Approach Art, a Simple Guide

        What follows below is a skeletal listing of critical points for consideration for anyone

seeking to gain a fundamental understanding on how to approach art. It is suggested that to begin this process the reader should place aside what he or she already considers to be “true” about art, and start from zero. This suggestion is made based on the idea that to truly appreciate or understand a work of art, the viewer must first approach the work with an unbiased mind, this means to approach the piece in the same way that you would approach the meeting of a new person: until you get to know the individual you are meeting for the first time it is impossible to pass judgment on their qualities, to do so before hand is to approach that person with prejudice. Every work of art is unique; stereotyping a work of art in advance based on preconceived formulas such as style, period, artist, monetary value or any other possible preconception is actually to ignore the uniqueness that makes art so powerful in the first place.

1.      How to “look” at art.

        When you find yourself face to face with a work of art, this is one essential first step to take if you intend to understand anything about it: look at it as the unique object that it is without referencing any other work of art or any previous knowledge you may have about types of art. Every work of art is unique and must be viewed exclusively from this perspective.

        2: Motivation of the artist.

        Give art a chance! The creation of an artwork is no simple task, it is an extremely complicated form of work that essentially is executed by the artist without any guarantee of success. There are no real “road signs” provided to the artist to tell him if the unique object he is creating will be “good” or not; in other words, the act of creation is an act of faith. This in itself should give the viewer a moment of pause where he or she will ask the question: what is the artist’s motivation? When you approach an artwork, consider this: the artist took the time and energy to create this object with no clear sign that the creation of this work would actually be worth the effort. Why did he do it? What is the hidden reason for this effort? With this in mind you will begin to actually search the work for the meaning or importance behind it; in most cases when dealing with a “fair” work of art your effort will be worthwhile.

       3. Technical components of the work in question.

        Once you begin to “study” the work of art you are viewing, consider the technical elements the artist used to make the piece. This is the one area of viewing a work of art where some prior knowledge does become useful. Many technical possibilities have been discovered by artists through the centuries, these possibilities have increased the range of what the artist is able to accomplish in his work. When creating a work of art the artist will select any one or any number of these techniques in combination to achieve a final resolution of the piece. For the viewer, it is then necessary to look at how well the artist used this particular technique or how well he unified the multiple techniques to complete the work. A full description of how these techniques work singularly or in combination would be far too long in this simple guide: for those that already have a basic understanding of these principles there is no real need for description, for those of you who do not yet know I can offer a good metaphor that will allow you to move forward without a full understanding of this information. Most music listeners do not have a working understanding of the technical basics underlying the music they listen to, however, they are able to “feel” when the music is “right” or “wrong”; to say this another way, when a beat is out of place, you know it. In the visual arts, the principle remains the same, though we are not usually aware of it; for you the viewer to become aware of this, it requires you to pay close attention to what you are viewing, when you do this, the aberrant or dissonant element will show itself clearly. In principle, all techniques used by the artist in a work of art should be in harmony with each other. When there is harmony in the technical elements employed to create the work, it just seems “right”.

        4. Meanings.

        As stated above, the artist always has a motivation for the energy he expends in the creation of a work of art. All art forms are a form of communication, in the case of the visual arts it is visual communication. This simply means that the visual artist is attempting to communicate with you by showing you an image made in a particular manner. It is at this point that you will combine your understanding for the artist’s technical choices in the execution of the work with the knowledge that the artist had a clear motivation to communicate something to you. Taking this combination as your starting point you then look to the image you are being shown; if the work is successful the meaning should become apparent to you. If nothing immediately impresses itself on you, then look to how you “feel”. Again, like music, the visual arts can impress sensations on you that you may not immediately be aware of as conscious thoughts. If you take a moment to consider how the work is making you feel, you may be able to combine this with the image and then gain the understanding of the work.

        It is important to add here that a failure to understand the work you are viewing may not

be the result of your “inability” to understand what the artist is trying to communicate to you.

As stated above, there are no true “road signs” for the artist to follow, as a result, not every work of art created by a talented artist will be successful; some fall short of their mark. In general though, a successful work of art will be intelligible to the average viewer without that viewer having excessively specialized knowledge about art (this is a particularly important point in relation to contemporary art). Art that does not meet this criterion cannot be considered successful.

     5. Feelings.

      The visual arts are generally active on many levels simultaneously, as stated before, very much like music. Just like music, a visual artist can give the viewer of his work specific sensations or feelings. This can be accomplished in many ways that the viewer may never become aware of as they tend be very technical in nature. Briefly however one of the most accessible of these can be stated simply here: color. Using only color choice an artist can stimulate emotions or moods in his audience. The range of emotions an artist can stimulate in a viewer of his work is only limited by the number of emotions that a human being can feel. Communication through the emotions is perhaps one of the most used modes that an artist will employ in his attempt to connect with his audience. For this reason it is absolutely necessary that you pay close attention to the feelings you experience in the presence of the work of art you are viewing. Simply expressed, what does it make you feel? A work of art as a unique object with the purpose to communicate something to you should make you feel something in its presence, the same way you would feel in the presence of another human being. Either the work will exert a force on you that makes you “feel” intrigued and stimulated, or it will exert a pressure on you that makes you feel uncomfortable and the desire to move away from it. Before you step away, or step closer, take note of whatever sensation you are experiencing as it just may be the key the artist implanted in the work to give you the ability to understand the work. A work of art that you pay close attention to, should make you feel something, if not, it is more than likely that the work is not successful as art.

        6. Additional points to keep in mind for those looking to buy art…

A.    The name of the artist that created the work you are considering is absolutely

unimportant when you are viewing the work as a unique object. Even

the best known artists do not always create successful works, some

works just do not succeed.

     

B.     When considering a work of art, do not consider the price of the work as your first qualification. Only consider the attributes of the actual work at hand. Some extremely expensive works of art are not successful works, as some inexpensive works are very successful. Art and business are not the same thing.

C.     Trust your own feelings about the work of art. Experts may be able to advise

you about art, but experts usually have their own interests to look after as well. In the final analysis, you are the one that must live with the art you buy.

D.    Though many people talk about investing in art, don’t do it if you love art. People

who invest in art are thinking about money, which has nothing to do with art. Only

buy what you love, in this way you insure yourself that you will not make a mistake with your money.

Prelude for a Response

        We are living in unprecedented times, both for the extraordinary new possibilities offered by the advancement of technology as well as by the challenges that this technology is creating for traditional societal structures, self-identity, national identity and what it means to be a citizen of the planet earth at the start of the second decade of the second millennium AD.  There is a sensation that events are speeding up, whether this is resulting from an actual increase in extraordinary events, or a perceived acceleration due to the ability of such events to be immediately reported to a global audience via information technology, the result remains the same from the human perspective.

        The last 20 years gave us a remarkable and diverse number of human achievements which often carried with them an equal if not greater number of challenges confronting both the global society at large and the average citizen of every nation.  At the start of the 90’s we witnessed the dissolution of the former communist block, the hegemony of the United States over the world, and the rapidly-rising economic power of south-east Asia. We saw the spread of the internet, and then the advent of wireless technologies which placed the power of the internet (including the ability for video, text, photo and voice), directly into the hands of an average citizen. The last ten years witnessed an increase in fanatical belief systems, both political and religious, the worst a combination of the two; terrorist attacks were broadcast live to the world while we grew exhausted by continuous war in the Middle East. The last years saw the divide between the rich and poor increase, the rich never having been richer and the poor never so poor, all the while this phenomenon reached an apex in the years of the global economic crisis. The same ten years gave us an increasingly anxious sensation about the health of our planet and the sense that our species was facing an increasing risk of self-annihilation as a result of the exact same technological development that seemed to offer so many new possibilities for our evolution. The period also gave us the most extreme weather patterns seen since humanity began keeping weather records, every year new records were broken for flooding, hurricanes, tornados, droughts, snow storms, and wild fires; simultaneously the polar ice noticeably melted and the oceans began to rise. The last four years saw the advent of the mega social-networking sites, the largest of which was Facebook, for the first time in history over 500 million people came together in a manner that allowed them to disseminate information instantly to a mass audience directly from their mobile phones, laptops, or home computers; in effect each Facebook user became his or her own broadcasting entity with the possibility to be heard by an audience which was for the most part unrestricted by borders, politics, or traditional social structures. This new technology also empowered the youth of the world, making them the prime force for world change, a first true glimpse of which was seen in the series of street revolutions that occurred at the start of the new year in 2011: revolutions primarily driven by the youth, supported and organized through information technology, and moving faster than the governmental structures of the nations effected could act to suppress them using traditional methods.

         Everything elaborated above is virtually unique to the developing epoch in which we now live, a moment of moments where an individual‘s ability to accommodate these rapid changes in his or her mind is being pushed to a limit. All of this is creating a psychological and spiritual stress that an individual may find hard to cope with. Some are turning to traditional religions, seeing in these times the signs of the end of the world and the God-sent demand for man to return to traditional belief systems, while others are looking to un-orthodox forms of spirituality that they feel will resolve their anxieties in ways more in-tune with the contemporary world; some are resorting to science and logic believing that the way out of the problems being created by technology is to gain an even greater understanding of the fundamental laws governing the physical universe; others are preferring to immerse themselves in the world, concentrating on the physical reality of the moment, burying their anxiety in the action of life.

         

         In this moment, beyond speculation, we do not know with certainty exactly what specific outcomes will arise from these times or how mankind as a species will choose to respond to the challenges now confronting him, the individual responses of the average man likewise remain uncertain . What is certain is that mankind as a species and each man singularly are now confronted with a unique moment in history that questions traditional and contemporary assumptions regarding both mankind’s place in the world as well as the individual’s place in society, irresistibly these challenges demand a response both from the global society at large and from each individual member of society in particular.

Art is Like Sex

      Art is like sex, the best leaves us with an experience that makes us want more, the worst makes us run away and hope to forget. The comparison works both for the artist when he creates a work of art and then for the spectator of the work when he experiences it.

      Like with sex, too much technique and repetition can kill a work of art even before it is completed. The artist should have the sensation that every work he creates is the only one, something slightly risky with an un-guaranteed result. When the artist approaches his work with a preconceived formula in his head he may fall into a series of prearranged technical actions that lack any real inspiration, the resulting work will often be lifeless and dull for all the display of technical mastery. Just like in sex, the artist should be in the moment when he is creating, this leaves him open to the unexpected surprise that may in fact turn his work into the most memorable of experiences. For the artist the risk of trying something he has never tried before and does not already technically master can be the doorway to creating the most inspiring work of art. When the artist works in this way and has this experience, he simply cannot wait until he is back in the studio again.  In short, there should be risk, there should be a sense of being completely in the moment, there should be the unexpected surprise and the artist should feel real satisfaction with what he is doing.

      For the viewer of a work of art the metaphor holds true. It would be good to say here that not every work of art is meant for every person, but that there is a work of art out there for each of us. When viewing a work of art for the first time, the viewer should feel some immediate sensation inside of him in reaction to being in the presence of the artwork. It should challenge and surprise him. It should give him an intense emotional reaction that will later leave him replaying the experience of having seen the work of art long after he is away from it. The work should create the need in him to experience it again and again. As with sex some increasing experience of viewing art will help the viewer understand better what it is that he is looking for or likes. Unlike most relationships though, cheating is recommended when it comes to art. The viewer may be loyal to a work of art or to an artist in general, but the more experiences the viewer collects the more he will appreciate what he already has seen or he will discover even greater experiences that he could not previously imagine, in either case the result should be that the viewer has had a memorable and emotionally intense experience with an artwork. The experience of viewing a work of art should be a profoundly emotional event that leaves the viewer feeling like his entire universe has shifted, if not then the viewer should really just move on and forget the experience. Just because a spectator has not had such a moment with a work of art does not necessarily mean that art is not for him, it probably means that he has not yet found the right work of art. 

      Finally it would be good to point out that like with sex, no matter how many books you have read on the subject, or opinions you have heard, both for artist and spectator, in the end it is an extremely personal experience the outcome of which ultimately depends entirely on the particular individual involved; the theories break down and we are left only with one choice, to stop talking or thinking about it and come what may, give ourselves up to the experience.