another truck, and more pondering...

oooh, I love all the art talk! OK, then heres a go at some other thoughts I was having about representation. oooooh, so artsy!

Now, I had the thought, that to me there are three aspects of an image that create a message, and contribute to meaning for me. These are: light, content and shape. Now it all gets a bit fuzzy, but the thought is that they each talk to our minds and hearts differently and bring out different responses. When all three are in harmony, and when I have a response to each aspect then the picture can create a powerful message, and can even have a transformative affect on the viewer.

So, light. Has to do with colour, mood, intensity. You know, "light" things. These dictate the emotional aspect of the picture...I think. The light evokes a physical, experiential response that is more of the body than the mind. I think thats what the abstract expressionists were about - no? Rothko? To me it is most important to nail down the colour and the light than the other two because it pin points a meaning that is more powerful than an intellectual response. Its almost spiritual, something of the back of our minds closer to the spinal cord - "reptilian mind" is what my dance teachers called it. And an image could affect that part of our being without us even knowing it, and it could take affect much later. Or it could infuse our being and come out in subtle ways. But if that aspect is "muddy", then the meaning is potentially muddy too...for me anyways...

then theres shape. Shape is closer to representation and is more of the conscious brain. Its related to nostalgia as shapes are images that remind us of things, and then we make the connection to a feeling. Maybe its something we recognize, that we have experienced and know something about - its context, and then we can put a meaning to it. Texture is almost shape and its there too. For me texture is in between light and shape, and it is evocative of mood. Id be interested in seeing if there was any neuro brain studies done as to which parts of the brain are triggered by these things.

Then content. Well, I guess thats the stuff the artist wants to communicate. content can be images or colours, but its the package that gets across the meaning. Content is the stuff in the picture. And in representation its the "picture". To me, the content can have different roles. Sometimes you have a "picture of a sock"...or you can have a "picture...with a sock in it". They're different, and in each the sock - or the content has different levels of importance.

Anyways, Im not sure about all this, but It make s a difference in what I am painting....when I am learning to paint - I paint an image of Marcel's toy truck. I wish I could nail down some sense of light or mood, but right now I am just trying to get the paints to be able to describe a shape, and some differentiation of colour, and texture...oh the light, it vexes me...