Part One: The
Way We See…
Sometime ago I
realized the value of motion. The old masters knew this and that
is why they started each work with that. As they progressed they
layered the top values (usually dark on top of this animation)
which we call glazing. It worked in the dark areas but fell
apart in the lights for they had to use opaque colors and values
in their greed to render the form. In all too few cases there
was an exception to this…Rembrandt, Titian and El Greco didn’t
fall victim to this. In the case of Rembrandt the opaque areas
have a ‘life’ of its own and seems to repeat the animation in
them. In the case of Titian the work seems like a watercolor and
fully transparent. In El Greco the use of glass allowed the
opaques to swim to the surface. When one thinks of motion it is
NOT side by side only, but in and out as well. I think that is
what they were trying to attain
When one analyzes any endeavor that humans do it is always true
that they examine their findings ‘close up’. Because the medium
and technology was lost the desire to animate the surface was
not…this led the Impressionists to agitate the surface of their
works…but alas no in and out. As the 29th century came to a
close movies came into being and when Einstein stated ‘I give
you ENERGY AND MASS IN TIME’ hat startled the viewing public. As
movies became more and more important when they added sound in
time and then color and then brought into our homes via TB and
the computer, this animation thing was here to stay.
Artists began to animate more vigorously in the middle of the
20th century (the abstract expressionists) but by this time all
hope of achieving the ‘in and out’ was forgotten…when anyone
dared to study the past they were put down as being
academic…painting had no place of an educated person…just
express yourself…
This interest has led me to the most primitive needs that we all
have. The ‘in and out’ is so personal in the physical sense that
we set up rules of society to prevent it from happening too
often. This thing called ‘sex’ has been labeled the work of the
devil. Only under certain experiences will it be tolerated…
This act is so personal that any art form that does the same
gets the attention of the casual viewer…that is some kind of
power.
Part two deals
with music and writing
More thinking: When
listening to music that attracts me I react by tapping my foot
or humming to the tune. This helps me to connect to the reality
of the tune…I might even move and lean forward to capture it…
When it comes to reading from a book I again react by
underlining passages that relate to my being…I again lean
forward and mark that page to make sure I won’t miss it upon a
2nd reading…so the reader and listener reacts the same when
attracted to the meaning…the same occurs in painting…
Do composers and writers have a hidden way to captivate us…is
this an inborn talent or is it a ‘learned thing’??
Does it have to do with the rhythm of the presentation? In
comedy routines they say that they start the story slowly and
evenly (to put us at ease)…as the story unfolds the tempo
increases…then a pause…then the punch line which is delivered in
a lighter voice. The audience is taken by surprise and therefore
laughs because they are unprepared for what happened.
Saul Bernstein
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