Discerning

When folks come into the gallery I often hear, “I know nothing about art.” After reflecting on this, I speak with folks about two aspects of experiencing art. It does take knowledge to better understand the distinct skills artists bring to their work. It also requires reflecting on one’s own personal aesthetic sense to more fully appreciate where an artist takes you when witnessing his/her work. One of my biggest thrills when I am working a show, is when folks truly want to better understand both the skills and the aesthetics I entwine to make a piece of art or what I like to call a conversation with my viewers. When teaching, I believe it is my ultimate duty to help my students become as discerning as they choose to be in order to make their own choices about their creative process as well as the application of skills needed to enact that process. Consequently I am working on this list of what we Quakers call Queries, to use to discern vision.

A SERIES OF QUESTIONS TO ASK WHY YOU REACT THE WAY YOU REACT TO A VISUAL IMAGE

• When you see paintings that appeals to you comment why
Is it
The textures?
The Empty space?
The use of perspective?
The subject matter?
The clarity of color?
The Hues used?
The value differences?
The gestures?
• When you see something that makes you stop the car to look
Is it-
The breadth of the view?
The colors interlocking?
The nuances?
The sharpness?
The depth of the view?

• When you see a scene (in or out) that makes you want to sit and be
Is it
The peacefulness?
The human presence?
The gestures of the objects?
The way the objects relate to each other?


• When you see a scene or a painting and it stirs your emotions
Is it
Because of the calm?
A tension?
A strength?
An Indolence?
A memory?
A dance a movement?
A wild stirring?
A placing one in the proportions of the universe

• When does a scene draw you in asking you to participate?
When it


Places you in the proportions of the universe?
Shows human activity in its raw energy?
Humbles you?
Stirs longevity?
When you see the universal in the particular?






SOME THOUGHTS I ASK MYSELF

Am I a cliché thinker/ seer?

Do I paint what I am able to paint or what I intend to paint?

Or another way of thinking of it

Does what I have painted look like I intended it to look like that or does it look only what I was able to do?

Am I willing to be challenged/questioned or do I become defensive by justifying the result?

How much do I want to give my viewer?

In what am I asking my viewer to participate?