As Far As I Could Get

John Divola's, "As Far As I Could Get" collection is now showing at LACMA. Beautiful collection and merging of conceptual art, photography and painting.

The above piece was my favorite. It made me think about my past and present races to get away from certain people and situations.

Have you ever heard the saying, "Some people / things come in to your life for a season"? My father used to tell me this all the time. When I was younger, someone I loved deeply was taken from me. I never knew how to describe how I felt about that time in my life until I saw this painting. I just ran away. I ran and ran and ran. Far away. As far as I could get.

I couldn't put enough distance between me and all the things that reminded me of him and his sudden absence from my life. I even moved across the country. This is why I love art. For me it's almost...therapy. Ha. Artistic therapy. That sounds like the name of gallery.

Please see this collection if you are in LA. It's amazing and, like most art by real artists, it'll change your life and broaden your horizons.

"All my life as an artist I have asked myself: What pushes me continually to make sculpture? I have found the answer. art is an action against death. It is a denial of death.” Jacques Lipchitz


How amazing is this quote? For Jacques, death is only kept at bay through the creative outlet of sculpting. Very profound for what I believe about the connection between art and passion. One can say that without passion we are like the "walking dead". Zombies, if you will, moving along through the monotony of life. Sculpting, for Mr. Lipchitz, is his definition of passion. If he were not able to sculpt, he believes he would simply die. I have said on numerous occasions that if I lost the use my legs and could never dance again, I would die. I only realize now, through this quote, what that really means. To have passion flowing through me so much so that I would rather die than be unable to create. People feeling this passionate are a dying breed.
The piece I have chosen to showcase is Jacques Lipchitz's "Birth of the Muses" (how appropriate). This piece, though I know nothing about sculpting, says "passion" to me. It is bold, fierce and capitivating. In my experience, these are some of the best ingrediants for truly passionate art.

The Full Circle: A New Year in The Unknown

It's the New Year and I realized I have revealed nothing about myself in this blog as I had previously promised. Since I was a child, dancing has always meant the world to me. It was a place that provided me great escape and gave me peace. It was in dance I had discovered my passion. I always felt special when I danced. It was as if nothing could touch me. The quote on this picture says, "To dance is to be out of yourself. Larger, more beautiful, more powerful." I believe the same can be said about passion. To have passion is to go further, dig deeper, think broader, dance harder, express brighter than ever before. This requires you to go "outside" of yourself. This is not simply the outside of your basic thought patterns. It is beyond. So much so, it is unknown.
While attending dance class the other night, I saw a group of young girls preparing to attend as well. In size and shape they all looked the same. It was obvious they were all close friends. I was intrigued by their sense of sisterhood. As I watched them, they began to dance the routine that had been taught. All of a sudden, these girls no longer looked the same. The difference became as great as having five Spanish books and one Russian. One girl stood out distinctly. Where the others in her group danced for pleasure, she danced with and for pure joy. My eyes went to her immediately and I felt a type of transference with her. We met on a passion filled sound wave. I know that young girl has a lot of living to do but if she were to do it utilizing the passion I saw her exude that day, she will truly be an accomplished individual.

The Full Circle: The Passion Coma

"I think the reason why many people have low art enthusiasm and museum attendance has to do with the inability to be still. In this society, as a culture we are groomed from birth to death to crave instant gratification. We are bombarded with noise and digital distractions through TV, videos, and other media sources.

When it comes time to be still, to be silent, to listen with your soul, there is a restlessness and the absence of passion. Why? This is new and unexpolored territory. With any new experience comes the feeling of being out your element and discomfort. Where there is normally noise and erratic visual stimulation, there is now silence and objects are in a static state.

To have passion is to have the ability to listen with your soul, to be silent and reflect on life -- past, present, and future, and to appreciate the many interpretations of life aka ART. For those that it does not come naturally, passion must be nurtured :)"

I like what Tyson has said about passion but in my experience, this falls short of its complete definition. Passion, for me, does have to do with listening to your soul but this must be followed by ACTION! There has to be activity. I can not imagine where we'd be if Thomas Edison had the passion for the improvememnt of the light bulb for home use but never acted on that message from his soul. Passion without action is dead just like faith without works is dead.
I believe that people could be more in tune to their own personal passion but lose this ability as they age. Children have wealthy imaginations but as they grow in to adults they tend to let go of the make believe. This same principal applies to passion. I can recall being an incredibly passionate teenager. So can everyone for that matter. That boy, girl, sport completely consuming your every thought when you were fourteen? Once we got older, some of this intense passion slipped away. Some hold on to it and are able to transfer it to another aspect of their life. Others completely let it go and are satisfied never to feel that way again.
I do not believe the problem with low involvement in the arts is due to people being unable to sit still. I have seen forty grown men sit still in front of a television for several hours. Art makes you feel and it makes you think. That is why I believe people do not frequent museums. You are right about us being bombarded with instant gratification images and magazines. People are only still with what they want to be still with. The television or a gossip rag. No one wants to think too deeply. No one wants to be forced or challenged by a piece of art. People want mindless, brain numbing television twenty-four seven. This is sad and unfortunate but fairly true for the majority.
I completely agree about people being fearful of discomfort. Deep artistic stimulation is very foreign to most people. They will run from these odd thoughts and feelings instead of embracing them.
Passion is different for everyone but for me, as a moving artist, I have what I like to call a, "passion coma". This is when I hear a song that touches the very depths of my soul requiring me to drop what I am doing and become a prisoner to my gift for the next three to five minutes. For other people, the "coma" could be anyhting. It could be a visit to the Louvre, the smell of clay or a pair of tap shoes that ignites your passion sending you to another place during the creation of a personal masterpiece.

I heard it said that, "passion is one step from crazy". In my experience, the step in question is not a big one. Is your passion one step from crazy? If so, what does that look like in your art?

The Full Circle: Savoldo's Mary Magdalene

"Saint Mary Magdalene at the Sepulcher" by Giovanni Girolamo Savoldo

I am not convinced art is more about what you see than it is about what you feel.

I recently took a trip to the Getty Museum in Los Angeles, CA. As my friend and I were perusing the walls and walls of beauty in the Italian gallery, I came across this painting. The description tells the Biblical story of Mary Magdalene as she sees Christ for the first time as the risen Messiah.

This painting captured me in a way I have never been captured by art. I began to process what I was seeing, feeling and I felt emotions rapidly swirling through me. I was raised listening and learning the stories of the Bible but never had I felt Mary Magdalene to be portrayed in such beauty. The golden shroud is immaculately detailed though, when I saw this painting, it brought waves of shame and happiness over me. All at the same time, I could have cried and laughed.

A million people could walk by this painting and it mean nothing to them. I choose to believe this painting had such an impact on me and the other people gathered by the painting because of our heightened level of passion. I could feel the others really taking in the painting and allowing it to resonate inside them. It feels as if the work of the truly passionate can only be appreciated by the truly passionate. Is this why many people don't care for museums? Does low art enthusiasm and museum attendance have a connection with true, deep rooted passion?

In that moment, standing in front of that painting, I felt unbelievably special. More so than I have in a long time. Passion stirs me on the inside and somehow manages to deepen my gifts with every artistic experience.

The Full Circle: The Beginning

Amy Lowell said, "Art is the desire of woman to express herself, to record the reactions of her personality to the world she lives in."

Honestly, this quote could have stopped before the first comma. "The desire to express herself." Self expression is so powerful. I believe all art has an underlying connection not everyone can easily see. Painting, dance and opera are all connected on an intense frequency of passion. Many people live and die every day without experiencing true passion. This is why only a select few are able to fix their ears to this frequency. It's the humming sound in the museum, it's the smell of resin on the dance floor, it's the excitement of a new, innovative way to express yourself. If you feel this, then you know passion...but what are you doing with it? For many years I sat on my gifts and talents due to personal tragedy. I realize now I had betrayed myself. Years of creativity, never to be recovered.
I write now to express myself in a positive light. The Full Circle of Art is about taking different pieces of art, several genres, styles and comparing them with each other.

I believe, in some way, all art is connected and in one way or more, inspires more art.

ModM