Individual Sections: Form

Being

Consciousness

Forms of Thought

a. Language

A Phenomenological Approach

I make art in order to reach an understanding of myself. In attempting this, I also attempt to understand society and the environment that formed me. I noticed a long time ago that reflection on the things that I created led to some small insight on my belief system and my psychology. When I decided to return to the University setting, I also decided that this would be my focus. If I were to dedicate my life to this…art…something I obviously held in high regard, I needed to determine why -- why, for me, this was the right thing to do and why this was so important to me. These answers, I believed, would only be found by diligently immersing myself in the art-making process. While immersed in this primarily intuitive and materials oriented process, I also needed (almost in direct opposition) to be as objectively analytical as possible about the things that I made.

"A Phenomenological Approach" was to be for my BFA exhibition. I felt it should be a summing-up of 4 years of reflective study. I concentrated on producing a group of objects that I thought would visually correspond to my creative process, which I now know includes analysis as an integral component. The branch of Philosophy called Phenomenology has as its subject the development of consciousness or self-awareness without making ontological claims or claims of being. This is the creative process as I see it. The individual sections of the work, "Being", "Consciousness", and "Forms of Thought" make up my "Phenomenology of the Creative Process", since in some sense it involves use of dialectical opposition akin to that addressed in Hegel's "Phenomenology of Spirit". The visual method of presenting what is basically a philosophical reflection on the essential question, "What is art?" (to the artist) is a necessary one. With this format, I believe I stand a greater chance of truly conveying the things I have learned about my process. I have made efforts to make the strongest quality of the work a "controlled ambiguity" that would allow viewers to apply their own experience and arrive at an understanding of not only what the work is about, but also about the person that created it -- even if this is only after they have "diligently immersed" themselves in a thing or experience that genuinely intrigues them…as I have.

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ART: Why Installation?

Creating a "space"

The choice of an installation or assemblage of objects was meant to emphasize a feeling of place. In creating a "space", I gave the viewer an area to "approach"; to head toward and then reach. I hoped to mirror my experience in creating. In beginning an artwork this seems to be what usually happens. I fix my mental gaze on a goal. This "place" is something I work toward; where the components of the creative process come together and fall into position around me. During my time working toward my undergraduate degree, I made significant progress toward an understanding of my creative process. I believe the progress that I have made in getting to the essence of abstract concepts through creating art enables a more efficient communication of those concepts while allowing me to shed personal bias and societal conditioning. My method allows for an objective investigation of personal issues without immediately saddling the viewer with personal unpleasantries. In this way, I hope to involve them more personally with the length and breadth of what causes someone such as myself to develop those issues. The person who views my artwork is able to approach these issues from the reference point of their own experience - translating from a visceral response to intellectual understanding.

Photo Credit: Ivan Santiago - FIU Media

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Placement and opposition

The titles of the component parts of the installation (and quite a few other pieces of my work) are intended to be pointers to philosophy. "Zone" was only realized at the end of the process and it is still an area that I am working on translating outside of an internal understanding. Perhaps for now it is enough to say that this is the "place" translation occurs; The Corpus Callosum of the creative process. The idea of opposition was addressed from the very beginning in the approach to the fabrication of the two large sculptures. How they were made dictated their final form. I further emphasized the separation of the two by their placement, which allowed me to illustrate the paths of thinking from creative to analytical or vice-versa. An individual piece of artwork can start either way; evolving from directed play or generated by clear concept (or subsets within sets in any combination). The pathways (Language and Imagery) between the two types of thinking are the different forms of thought that facilitate the developing relationship between the two opposites. Although the experience itself is kinetic and in this sense [envisioning motion instead of stillness] the installation would portray the creative process, in stasis, as the installation is viewed, it is more accurate to call the work a diagram. I prefer to use the word illustration; in this case, illustration of brain or mental function -- right brain, left brain and the translation of the language of either side into something the other understands.

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Individual Sections: Form

General comments on the two larger sculptures - Being and Consciousness:

They are of the same proportions, about 6' tall and 2' around. This I thought of as an approximate human size. The primary materials of both are metal, polyester resin and fiberglass. There is the aforementioned difference in the approach to fabrication and also in the choice of metal for each. I will go into specifics of the fabrication process only as it may pertain to the overall concept of the work.

Being

Photo Credit: Ana Beatriz Galano

This sculpture was intended to represent the creative/right-brained approach. I did an intuitive drawing with chalk on a 4' x 6' sheet of steel, and then cut out portions of the drawing. The drawing and cutting were unplanned and I made sure to complete both in one sitting to ensure that no additional analysis of the form had the chance to intercede. The steel was then forged into a cylindrical shape and the process of adding the fiberglass and resin started.

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Consciousness

Photo Credit: Ana Beatriz Galano

This sculpture was intended to represent the analytical/left-brained approach. I planned the geometric/box shape for the weight of all of the possible implications of that kind of form; as a representation of man's attempt to order his environment. The aluminum has a cleaner, colder look and feel than the steel. The box and stand were fabricated and then the resin added.

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Forms of Thought

In the pathway between the sculptures, Being and Consciousness are my representation of the forms of thought -- Language and Imagery. The smaller forms floating in the air are made of the same materials as the two main sculptures. The curvilinear forms were made from the steel that was cut out of the drawing on the 4' x 6' sheet used for Being. The rectilinear (boxes) are made from both steel and aluminum. The larger ones are closer to the two main sculptures and they become progressively smaller as they reach the center; passing through the Zone. The rubble on the ground is composed of broken square tablets. The originals were etched with three types of written language -- Cuneiform, Greek, and Binary Code. Multiples were then cast, broken into bits (cathartic!) and stained.

a. Language

Photo Credit: Ana Beatriz Galano

The broken plaster tablets with etched writing form reference to the development of language, especially written language. The three forms of writing I chose were: Cuneiform - the first written language, Greek - the beginning of Western thought, and Binary Code - which seems to be the evident present and future of communication.

b. Imagery

Photo Credit: Ana Beatriz Galano

The forms floating above represent thought as it truly happens (at least for a bicameral chimera), in abstraction. This abstract imagery (in truth, sometimes containing word forms) travels across the mind's eye, changing as it moves.

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The Zone

Photo Credit: Ana Beatriz Galano

The pass through area is the most difficult for me to communicate, or keep a clear picture of, outside of the experience. Appropriately, the answer to its representation, although I had been thinking about it all along, settled in on my consciousness right at the end of the installation. Thirty-four (my age) lengths of monofilament were strung from floor to ceiling…Visually enigmatic. (Thank you Ana Galano and George Gonzalez for the help with installing this -- what a pain!). It is a wall that is invisible until you are right on top of it, about to become entangled. The Zone is that "place'" where everything comes together and translation happens; from right-brain to left-brain or vice-versa.

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Materials: Content

For an artist that uses the approach of an intuitive response to the materials, the "content" becomes inextricably entangled in the materials. For artistic development, it is important for me that outside of the experience of creation attempts are made to discover and analyze what was uniquely important about the materials to which I was drawn and how I chose to use them. This is how an artist would develop a visual vocabulary. This is how we get into the psychology of things, fortunately or unfortunately, depending on your position. I had always painted in a more intuitive than planned manner. The move to sculpture should have been evident for someone who had started to paint on larger and larger canvases, so that painting became more of a physical activity than one that started with an image that needed to be painted. Sculpture was much more satisfying on a visceral level than painting. It allowed me the freedom to get some of the effect that I wanted with less work of one sort. This enabled me to do more work of another sort. Upon the realization that my artwork was a conversation with myself, I was able to intellectually see the validity in the idea of art as conversation -- communication. The artwork communicated to me things about myself that were below the level of full consciousness or awareness. I believed that these were things that needed to be addressed in order for me to develop as a person as well as an artist. One of the first sculptures that I made in 1999, Exist, illustrated the state that I felt I was in at that time and that I believed I could change with further investigation of my artwork.

However, I still had to address the initial drive to make art. Was it just because of a portion of my psychological makeup? Why was this form of communication more effective than the many journals that I had started and never finished? Did my psychology dictate that this method would be more effective? Some form of clarity came within the process of creating The MarChrist Collection. With this piece began the conscious realization or awareness of my dissatisfaction with the usual method of knowledge acquisition and communication -- reading and writing.

I learned that you could realize you have a problem with something without actually realizing how deeply within your psychology this problem is rooted. I'll quote something I wrote quite a while ago:

"I accumulated knowledge in the usual linear, logical fashion by voraciously devouring the written word. My sister is fond of saying, "For the longest time I wasn't quite sure of what she looked like, …her face was always behind a book." Unfortunately, I think 'Knowledge is power' is an inaccurate statement. Knowledge is a curse. More accurate is 'Ignorance is bliss'. To acquire even a bit of knowledge is equivalent to taking the first steps into the pit of hell; refer to the story of Adam and Eve. The more you learn, the more you realize that you know nothing, and this realization does nothing to quench the thirst to know. The man that taught me to read died soon after. His death brought with it the realization that I had a time limit. How effective in acquiring knowledge is this activity that only more deeply entrenches us in linear time? No matter how fast you read, you still have to read one book at a time…one chapter, one paragraph, one sentence, one word, one letter at a time. There has to be a better way. Contrarily, I still read everything I can get my hands on." MarChrist ©1998

However, I still wasn't aware that this was such a large obstacle. I resented what I perceived as time wasted; In being taught the standard ways of dealing with thoughts, in the translation of thought in order to communicate with everyone else taught this totally backward way of learning and communicating, and finally in having to deal with the social implications of not thinking in a standard way. I also had an intuitive approach (or non-linear) to language, having never read with a dictionary in hand. Who started that ridiculous advice anyway? [To the people that are now thinking, well how else would we acquire knowledge? I answer…I don't freaking know, I've been programmed to some extent, just like everyone else. Resistance is Futile. I am just trying to find a route around the big man-made obstacle. Vulcan Mind-meld, perhaps? Do I sound bitter? Well, say hello to my little problem.]

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Plaster Tablets

Following the line of thinking in my previous dictionary reference…it seemed obvious to some people that knowledge was best absorbed in completely a linear fashion. Understanding only came if it was built layer by layer from beginning to end. Therefore, a dictionary must be consulted as you read. I knew different. Layers...yes, but the order of layering really should depend on the person. I knew that I could read, not completely understand a word or phrase as I first encountered it and understanding would come as I continued to read the book. I mentioned a visual vocabulary before, but in writing, especially, there is a vocabulary that is set. Even if it is a broad setting, the setting of the English language itself is limited. The mentality of reading with a dictionary in hand has insinuated itself into visual art, which is primarily a visceral medium. Art viewers have been taught to barely glance at an artwork before wanting an explanatory text, in other words a dictionary. (Which makes me remember that I should do something about the format of this page). Or worse yet, they read the text first. As the content becomes more important than the form, what is lost to most of today's "learners" is that knowledge gained through a diligent application of will or involving more than the docile acceptance of someone else's opinion, will "stick". It would probably also be a form of knowledge much closer to that elusive objective truth.

In trying to address the questions about knowledge raised by work on The MarChrist Collection, I decided to start with the Greek philosophers…the time of the beginning Philosophy and of Science. What was a major turning point in Western thinking seemed a good point to start an inquiry into "where the problem began". And, I wanted to accomplish incorporating this into artwork without compromising the medium. I started with the Greek and math symbols, which I knew would be recognized as writing, but may not cause people to want to read and ignore the primary form of an artwork. It still interfered too much for my liking. I thought of Binary Code and in searching for another kind of writing, I was reminded of Cuneiform. I thought these three together would perfectly illustrate a development of language. (It also mirrored a development of thinking and culture, including art.) I worked to find a format of representation that would match my purposes and that I could change from an aged look to a modern look. The etched tablets were the solution; with either plaster or resin, I could stain them to make it looked aged and I could mix in metal powder to modernize them. I used for a few different pieces of artwork, but for this installation I wanted them to be like rubble on the floor that you would walk over or on without really paying attention to what they were, so I decided to use the stained plaster.

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Resin

That sculpture was more satisfying during the experience of creating was something that lay just beneath the surface of my awareness. Meaning, I did not consciously acknowledge that it gave me a form of fulfillment that painting did not. I simply dove head first into the experience of making sculpture. I allowed myself to create solely on the impetus of my fascination with certain materials. I especially liked the results that I achieved from coating plastic with latex.

This was not what one would consider a standard aesthetic. There was something uncomfortable in the cocoon-like appearance and the effect of peeled skin. I at least had the awareness that I had renaissance sensibilities (Michelangelo, DaVinci) as far as art was concerned. This awareness led me to question why I was drawn to create things of this nature. I experimented with more definite forms and by continuing to work with this medium I was able to focus in on some of the reasons that I was drawn to using it.

I was working with resin at the same time as the latex; trying to decide which one I preferred. The effects were similar, but though the latex accomplished some of what I wanted, the resin came closer. It is important to note here that I was not intellectually sure of what I wanted. I knew was searching for a particular form simply because I knew when I did not get what I wanted, but at the time I did not know and did not care why I was searching for a particular "visual". It was a labor-intensive rather than contemplative process for me to come to an understanding of how and why I needed the completed "visual" to be the embodiment of the "idea" in a very particular way. By this I mean that it was not as simple as noting that in the final form the latex was soft and the resin was not or that the latex deteriorated and the resin did not and then deciding that I simply wanted something hard and durable. This surface solution did not answer the real question. There were reasons that were directly caused by my thinking during the experience of creating and my thinking about the process of creating. The real question was, "Why did I want something hard and durable?" An answer could only be approached by continued immersion in the creative process. The processes for the latex and the resin were almost the same. They were both painted over plastic or a plastic covered form. The translucent quality of the natural color of both was similar. Through time I was able to narrow down the differences in the processes and the final effect that made me prefer the resin to the latex. Simply stated, the primary difference was that the resin in its final state more effectively mirrored an important part within the creative process. An art object was not only an expression of an experience; it was, in effect, a psychological "capture" of the moment of expression. By analyzing my artwork upon completion to learn about why I made art, I was relying on the artwork as "memory" and attempting to draw conclusions about the meaning of the experience of expression itself. (If anyone here is saying to themselves, "What the…?" Imagine being me…it's not pleasant at all.) It was important that this "memory" be as accurate as possible. The latex, through casting over a form captured this moment of experience, but because of the pliable nature of the latex, the casting itself had a life of its own and did not maintain the integrity of the moment that it captured. Resin, however, captured the experience and maintained the integrity of the moment while still conveying both the ephemeral and ethereal nature of a moment of experience or being.

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Metals

The first writing - Cuneiform led me on a tangent of reading and imagery research for a while. Fortunately, this was not a bad thing, because it more deeply entrenched in my mind the importance of the concept of translation and ease of interpretation in a form of communication, which also had to do with ease of analysis and understanding. Still, there existed for me the problem that written language was not adequate for some of my purposes. I did not think that the written word belonged in visual art. The medium lost some of its power if the viewer was moved to stop and read. Writing in or around a piece of artwork took away some of the effort I felt needed to go into understanding. This also was completely contrary to how I approached anything, reading or art. I was attempting to focus in on the components of my creative process and to fabricate something that illustrated this process as closely as possible. I needed to synthesize within myself why writing was unsatisfactory and began work on Epistamai Logos (Greek: roughly, understanding that by which thought is expressed).

I came to some realizations about how I thought. I was then able to understand the relationship between thought and words. I understood that I believed there was a difference between thought as it happened and words as they were used to describe thought. Thought happened naturally in a way that was not conducive to ease of communication (telepathy anyone?), we therefore needed words to provide structure.

a. Steel

I made Limitations.

The steel frame provided structure...Framing. It allowed for a shape for the resin, which would have no easily recognizable form otherwise. This for me was an accurate illustration of the relationship between thought and words -- steel representing the structure that words provided for communication of thought and the resin representing a capture of thought as it happened naturally. I then worked on Categories to further explore the steel in box shape capturing (and forming) the resin.

There was text written to go with The Categories...

"Some I managed to capture...though most were fleeting. Thought...I had representation. Placed in shiny neat holders. I could go back. Look at them. Remember. Try to understand. A glimmer here. A treatise here. Time. Light. Color. Aesthetics. Physics. On Mind. One why. One how. Some kept the essence more successfully than others. The experience, flash of insight, still evident. An enigmatic beam of light. Perception. Some were not successful at all; just pretty things. Of course, I don't have a problem with pretty things. Beauty embodies. Abstract concepts form physical construct. Captured...content. Life is such." MarChrist ©2001

Although the text was almost as cryptic as the visual medium itself, I decided not to display it with the artwork. The point of the matter is that I thought I found materials that satisfied my need to represent thought and the thinking processes without the usual symbols we used -- words.

b. Aluminum

I decided on aluminum as the metal for the Consciousness sculpture. I felt that it would be a better representation of the desire for a structure that would remain fairly constant and unchanged. The steel would rust, causing structural deterioration, eventually separating from the resin. Aluminum would not. Although I felt the eventual deterioration of the structure that words provided as time passes on (showing their inefficacy at capturing the intricacies of thought) was an accurate portrayal; the switch to aluminum for the representation of consciousness was necessary. It mirrored what I felt we desired when we authored reference books and recorded scientific experiments…these were part of the conscious effort to facilitate an enduring way of ordering our environment.

Tonietta Walters @ Florida International University