Finding your Voice

I have an idea. But I'm not quite sure how to express it. So, instead of hiding it away I'll allude to it in various expressive ways. I don't know that you will understand unless you take the time to figure out my language. But if I refer directly to the idea it becomes... less. And if I state it explicitly? Then it's not the same idea at all! It is within allusion that my idea thrives and finds room for itself.

I've realized that the expressing of my own ideas come in a linear way. First the idea is hidden inside of me, germinating and taking shape. Then, I allude to it in various ways, through conversation and in my art. Then, if I'm not understood I'll refer to it directly. Only if I have to will I state it explicitly... but again, I find the more explicit I have to state my original idea, the less it is itself. The final expression of my idea comes through action.

Hide


Detail from my recent hand-painted artwork "Jay".

Well, I'm not sure that this is communication at all, but maybe the first step to communicating an idea is hiding it within yourself. Have you ever met someone that speaks volumes even when they're not speaking or acting? Those are the people I love to get to know as I believe there are many amazing ideas hidden under the surface. What about the people that speak without thinking, believing that their words have weight in and of themselves. In some ways I can admire this communication but find that if it doesn't come out of a rich inner life it is momentary and will be forgotten. I strive to paint rich ideas that will affect lasting change.

Allude


"Adoration of the Shepherds", Domenico Ghirlandaio, 1485.

Allusion is how we play toward an idea. The idea could be specific but is more generally complicated and allusion is the only way to communicate that complexity in a visual way. An example I'll refer to is Domenico Ghirlandaio, a Renaissance artist whose work was explicit in some ways but also alluded to some deep inner ideas.

This altar piece "The Adoration of the Shepherds" shows a straightforward statement of a family and animals all gathered around a baby. It also refers to the story of the adoration of the baby Jesus Christ by his family, some shepherds and the coming Magi. But it also alludes to deeper humanistic ideas from the Renaissance that I won't get into here. It makes me wonder what hidden ideas Ghirlandaio included that cannot be understood without knowing the artist personally. Perhaps Joseph's features or body position reminded him of a memory of his own father. Certainly the inclusion of a depiction of himself as one of the shepherds warrants the idea of allusion and the speaking of his own story and ideas into this complex artwork.

Refer

Armando Testa was a 20th century Italian designer whose work often juxtaposed unexpected elements in order to make an impact. This poster he created in 1955 for Pirelli tires shows how one can 'refer' in visual communication. The tire refers to the elephant - the tire has tread, the elephant treads. Also, the elephant refers to the tire - the elephant has thick textured skin, the tire is thick and textured.

This method of communication is clear when you're speaking to a viewer who both knows what a tire is, and what an elephant is. If that knowledge isn't present the message would be lost and perhaps would become more of an allusion, if it comes out of hiding at all.

State

This is one of the more explicit of communication levels. In a society with many cultures and languages and differing worldviews this is the method of communication that is most understood. It is a straightforward and clear description of something. But it also must be a given that the stated idea can be understood across all boundaries. I'm not sure that this can ever be clear to absolutely everyone. What is a norm in one culture can be completely foreign to another. In general, way-finding communication systems and basic symbols, like the non-smoking one to the left, are a visual norm for communicating simple ideas. I believe that representational painting and photography can fall within this vein as well, but it's rare that personal filters and ideas are not expressed even in these.

Act



"I have always thought the actions of men the best interpreters of their thoughts." - John Locke

The strongest way I know of communicating an inner idea is to act upon it. I can think about it, allude to it, make reference to it and even state it directly but if I don't act in that same vein am I really being true to that inner idea?

An example of a visual artist who might exude this idea is Jackson Pollock. His expressive painting style was more about the process of acting on his ideas than it was the final outcome. A 1952 article by Harold Rosenberg states this about Pollock: "...what was to go on the canvas was not a picture but an event." Rosenberg called Pollock's work "action painting".

How do you communicate?

I prefer to communicate visually in the area of allusion, even if it doesn't communicate and the viewer gets lost. In a sense I am inviting them into a mystery, rather than handing them the answer. Many of my ideas dwell somewhere between opposing extremes. I feel like choosing one extreme betrays the other. I tend to shy away from the action step as I'd prefer my audience to participate by exploring my allusions. But perhaps the painting is the act.

I've mentioned five levels of communication that could aid in finding your voice: hide, allude, refer, state, act. All of these communication methods are valid, some just take more response on the part of the receiver than others. Which do you prefer? And are there others I haven't explored?

To Contemplate is to Toil

“One is not idle because one is absorbed. There is both visible and invisible labor. To contemplate is to toil, to think is to do. The crossed arms work, the clasped hands act. The eyes upturned to Heaven are an act of creation.” - Victor Hugo

What lies behind my art? I like to think about it so here are some fresh thoughts... forgive me if they're not as straightforward as you'd like.

I am conceptual, yes. For me this is not just the portraying of one idea. I love a concept that can be expressed definitively but not by negating all the thought processes put into finding that one idea. As I seek to find the focal point of a realistic painting, essentially looking for the one concept that underlies what I'm creating, I come through a complex and not quite linear painting process. What I'm enjoying about painting is that all of these thoughts are put together on the canvas with the final idea coming out with the most clarity. Well... sometimes.

I seek to show forth my mistakes and side roads in the final piece and not hide them from sight in thumbnails and sketches (although these are also a part of my process). I think this is why I've stopped transferring my final drawing directly onto the final painting surface. This is too controlled and unlike real life... instead I paint freely from the original sketches and photographs (and life, if possible). Although I look for refinement in my image and keeping elements in the same place throughout, there are many unexpected things that happen when painting like this. The freedom excites me!

Also, I really enjoy comparing and contrasting completely different ideas within one piece. Many times this makes a simple orange have a lot more meaning than just its appearance. What happens when you put it under a bright light, or a blue light, or candlelight? Different light situations affect how I'm viewing this orange. But not just with my physical faculty of sight. Different lighting situations bring out different thoughts and emotions as I paint. A brightly lit flower can cause joy and lightheartedness to be evident in my paintings. A somber candle in moody darkness can bring out depressive and sorrowful thoughts. Yes, I can control this to some extent by the ways I know I react to certain situations but the exciting part of painting from life is bringing about the unexpected. Life is unexpected. The longer you look at something you think is concrete the more it changes and can surprise you.

This may not jive in an environment that looks for strong concept and simple statement for impact on it's audience. But what about an environment that looks for the complex, thriving in mystery? Enjoying the seeking out of answers more than actually finding them, and much less than being shown them explicitly.

I'm not yet sure where this type of art fits commercially. It is more contemplative than direct. But that's an extension of who I am.

IMAGE CREDIT: Orange Photographs ©2010 Bethany Vanderputten.