collections
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lords & ladies; the ship of theseus
My previous collections have been studies into the philosophical ideas and theories that contemplates truth and reality. In my earlier series ‘plato’s cave’ the question concerned truth and reality outside in the light, contrasted with shadows and falseness in the cave. This series continues this theme. ‘the ship of theseus’ asks a question about truth and reality: if something exists and all of its parts are replaced, is it truly, in reality, the same thing? ‘Things’ in our world are perceived through our senses. One of our senses is that of sight. Colour in sight is driven through the cells contained in the eye composed of rods and cones, of which the cones provide us with colour vision. If, as happens, our body parts are replaced, and new cells replace the old, are we the same, and are the visions that comprise our sight through those cells the same? In abstract this idea is most easily expressed as the artwork projects differences for all individuals, the colours arranging themselves in shapes, hues and modulations that drive the idea of evolution, adaption, change, maturation and yet, possibly the consistency of identity that ‘the ship of theseus’ challenges. -
procrustes bed
Greek mythology tells the story of Procrustes, son of Poseidon. Procustes was a rogue and a smith, who would offer hospitality to passing strangers. In return Procrustes would question his guests and if their answers did not fit his arbitrary standard, he would stretch or amputate them to fit his ‘bed’ thereby conforming to his desired standard. Arbitrary standards are philosophical questions around reality and knowledge relating to the human condition. A ‘standard’ is a form of measurement that can be objective or subjective. Much of my previous work deals with this philosophical question which is fundamental to the human condition. In the work procrustes bed, I frame the inquiry from a different perspective: how do we as individuals, live life with an imperfect understanding of reality, which is constrained through imperfect knowledge? One possible answer is that we apply arbitrary standards to our and others conduct. For example, a documentary film depicting any subject that you care to mention will be filmed using a finite sample of all the information (truth/reality) available to the film-maker and this will be subjected to editing so as to maintain an entertaining narrative for the viewer. Photographs, paintings, all represent a finite data sample chosen, or depicted, by an individual to their arbitrary standard. Or in law, there is the ‘objective test’ of the reasonable man riding the Clapham Common omnibus. What is this objective test? It is a Judge, who decides (arbitrarily) whether the behaviour exhibited by the defendant rises to the standard of our reasonable men riding the bus. This is subjectivity dressed as a peacock and called objective. The myth presents Procrustes in a negative light, portrayed as a bad person. The myth illustrates rather the more accurate representation of the human condition, that we as individuals, employ arbitrary measurements (standards) all of the time through our endeavours in day-to-day living. -
creative destruction
Friedrich Schelling proposed and argued a philosophy of nature. His philosophy stemmed from a philosophical question central to the human condition: does God exist? Atheism can partly be attributed to the advance of science and the scientific method, an offshoot of Rationalism. The philosophy of nature argued that nature is a development towards self-awareness achieved through creativity. What is the fundamental Romantic viewpoint towards art? Art was held to be a medium that would, or could, elicit an emotional response in the viewer. An emotional response is a response to a stimuli, in this case the art work, filtered through a value system. To speak of values, we speak of morality. This body of work challenges the values held by the viewer and thereby seeks to challenge morality itself. Nature according to Schelling strove through endless evolution towards self-awareness. This idea pre-dated Darwin and his ‘Evolution of the Species’ treatise. The increasing industrilisation of Europe had created a Romantic yearning for the romanticised simpler life of the agricultural lifestyle. This philosophy of Schelling’s was in conflict with the orthodox religions that espoused the concept of ‘God’. The central tenet proposed by Schelling was that nature strove to create and that man, nature’s highest iteration, ought to to be held by man. While working on my art, a number of wars are currently raging throughout the world. War is the very antithesis of creation. War is unmitigated destruction. As such, within Schelling’s philosophy, war cannot be held as a value or a moral position universally. A question that is raised from this position is: can there ever be a just war? If nature, as in Schelling’s philosophy is a replacement for religion, then the climate change that is currently underway through the tremendous increase in the number and ferocity of storms and natural disasters, is in conflict with the ‘nature’ of Schelling’s day which was supportive of humanity, as today’s nature seemingly has declared war on humanity. I created my art with these various influences competing for articulation. I chose to objectify my art and value system photographing trees. The abstract nature of the photographs capture the essence and avoid the particular, as, values to qualify as a moral position, must be universal. This also mirrors the essence of Schelling’s philosophy, that nature could substitute for those disillusioned with religion. While nature may be fey, wild and unpredictable, nature, unlike war, is creative destruction. -
a return to the dark ages
In the return of the dark ages, I continue my examination into the phenomena of the State’s intrusion into our lives (society) and its increasing control and manipulation thereof. There was a popular film trilogy that dealt with this topic, viz, ‘The Matrix’ which was an artistic expression of Nozick’s thought experiment written in 1974. “Suppose there were an experience machine that would give you any experience you desired. Neurophysiologists could stimulate your brain so that you would think and feel that you were writing a great novel... All the time you would be floating in a tank, with electrodes attached to your brain”. The thought experiment poses the question; ‘given the choice, what option would an individual choose - the fantasy, or, reality? Utilitarianism, proposed by Jeremy Bentham in the 18th Century, concluded that moral decisions that run counter to our intuition should be embraced, rather than the scientific basis for moral and social decision making, which he felt had resulted in chaotic and incoherent intuitions and on which so called natural rights and natural law have been based. Bentham stated - “prejudice apart, the game of push-pin is of equal value with the arts and sciences, of music and poetry”. J.S. Mill, a contemporary of Bentham, argued a hierarchy of values, some lower, some higher, “the life of Socrates dissatisfied is better than the fool satisfied” articulates this cardinal value system. Essentially then, the increasing intrusion of the State into individual’s lives embraces and articulates the utilitarianism of Bentham, in which the hooking up of the brain to the electrodes (State interventions through policy and law), result in an increasing number of life’s decisions that are systematically removed from their (an individual’s) contemplation. This represents (and I would argue, results in) a regression of the moral and intellectual society which acts as a filter to the rate and type of technological, ethical, and social innovation, which proceeds unabated. My artwork comments upon the moral compass that filters life’s experiences and challenges, arguing that Mill’s hierarchy of (value) utilitarianism is preferable to Bentham’s version of (pleasure) utilitarianism. -
on the shoulders of giants
What is the fundamental Romantic viewpoint towards art? If some artist were to quarry a block of stone, is that art? Yet, if that block of stone were then to be reshaped by the artist, we would call it art. Why? It is because the sculptor or artist has communicated a meaning to the viewer. Since only aspects of objective reality can be communicated to a viewer, this means that art is the reshaping or re-presentation of reality. An artist cannot reproduce reality in totality, he can only communicate a small part of reality. To do so necessitates that a choice be made. The artist select some aspect of reality and in doing so the artist will exercise a choice, which will represent some standard by which he will judge his work. A function of art, or its central purpose, is to elicit and induce an emotional response in the observer. Emotions are responses that mirror values held by the viewer. Kristin Hatland, based in New Zealand, and John Kiely (http://www.blurb.com/b/8436449-echoes-of-ritual-portfolio), in the United Kingdom, took this conceptual block of stone and guided each other through a collaborative carving. The two photographers, one abstract/abstract expressionism the other figurative, started a photographic conversation, each exploring the others practice, inspiring and evaluating, developing a body of work that is united by its diversity. Each photographer has approached different aspects of the same subject, endeavouring to communicate and promote an emotional response from the viewer. The resultant images represent a twelve month creative process that represents the sharing of diverse cultural and academic influences brought together through the shared passions for the medium. -
plato's cave
The subject matter that motivates me is the nature of the “State.” The State plays a significant role in society, and of course philosophy has much to say in regard to the State. The photographs represents to me, the coercive power of the State: its powerful ability to imprison and punish. The contrast between darkness and light, together with the shadows introduce the aspect of Plato’s Cave - the illusion that veils the reality and truth. The reality versus the illusion, mirror the State’s power in distorting the true nature, and reality of the State. The photographs carry their own unique titles that hint at time passing, which rather like the fable of the “Frog in the pot” suggests that the State encroaches so slowly against freedoms, that many never realise that they are being slowly boiled alive. The abstract style also picks up the idea of McLuhan’s “The Medium is the Message” through the use of ice and abstraction, both creating and imparting a cold message. Art history encompasses large tracts of philosophical thought. A central and recurring question within philosophy relates to two fundamental questions: how do we know something, viz. knowledge, and its correlate, truth? This fundamental question led me on my own personal search, looking for a definition of art, that fulfilled this philosophical criteria of knowledge and truth. I appreciate that some truths are subjective; that my personal truth, might not be someone else’s truth or value: this then became a central point in selecting the style of abstraction. Abstract is “wertfrei” or value free. My values, or your values, are equally valid within this style. -
i know it when i see it and this is not it
“I shall not today attempt further to define the kinds of material I understand to be embraced within that shorthand description (hard core pornography): and perhaps I could never succeed in intelligibly doing so. But I know it when I see it, and the motion picture involved in this case is not that”. Justice Potter Stewart, concurring opinion in Jacobellis Vs. Ohio 1964, regarding possible obscenity in “The Lovers”. The quote from Justice Potter conveys the position of the Law at that particular moment. To better understand this position, I have undertaken a brief study in the origins of the Law, and how the Law has evolved. Once again, I find that this has moved my studies into the history of Philosophy. The Law that we have today, took origin from Aristotle’s Natural Law theories. Therefore I have tracked the evolution of the Law, through the ages to the present. It is under the Law, whatever system that has predominated at the time, that has been the limiting factor for artists working with the nude. The truth of this assertion, being bourne out in Justice Potter, who, essentially refusing to provide a definition, provided a catch-all, “I’ll know it when I see it”. Today, definitions are far tighter in the Law. Interestingly, the definitions have been created within Statutory Law. The Law of the State. The definitions have not been created through the evolution of Common Law (law of the people). I mention this as it ties very closely with my (ever evolving) definition of art, which, in the creation of art by artists, will reflect their values. The term “values” implies the influence of a moral base and Ethics. Democritas, asserted that Moral values and Ethics were absolute. This assertion, drawn as it was from Aristotlian Natural Law has been inconsistent through the ages and development of the Law, and certainly found it’s apogee in Justice Potter, who essentially stated, It is what I say it is. Photographs depicting the nude in a manner that is not pornographic, but rather feminine discussing the patriarchal vs. the matriarchal gaze attempting to uncover possible bias that often seem to present itself when the subject matter is nudity. A series of photographs, which starting point is the matriarchal society that existed when Venus of Willendorf was created, however starting my photographic series with the Birth of Venus, painted during the earlier part of the Renaissance, jumping to the contemporary Venus and finally my own feminine gaze that includes the political and legal environments. In doing so, I have as an artist, taken my values as my starting point, and through the creative process, sought to translate these values into an artwork that communicates these values to the viewer. In doing so, of course my values will fall under the gaze of the state, who, through their legal definitions will seek to pass a moral/legal verdict on my work, essentially echoing Justice Potter: we (the state), will know it when we see it.