Process as Art, More Insights from Source Artist Process

There are those conversations that for some mysterious reason come at the just the right time to help crystallize an idea or lesson.

Imagine, a 20 year desire takes center stage and I felt compelled to make my mark as an installation artist, rather than confining myself to my previous explorations that rarely ventured beyond the land of canvas or paper. I felt drawn to software and digital art although I knew virtually nothing about the tools of the trade.

Gradually it started to dawn on me that if I announced this intention that I was opening the door to let whoever wanted to pay attention witness my growth process as an artist. When I realized and accepted what I was setting out to do, I had not even learned to use Photoshop. Since then I have made playing with various tools to work out ideas part of the process art concept.....

Recently I had a conversation that helped me understand you don't let what you don't have stop you from doing what you need to do. If I waited for someone else to see the value in what I have been working on then there would be nothing to communicate it now. I had to start in order to increase the potential for the goal to be realized.

Last week Dawn was discussing fear in her blog. Later as an aside she explained the reason for shining the light to clear them out.

Today I had one of those conversations that allowed me to see more fully the fears I had overcome to pursue Cultural Fusion…and what the phrases, "art as philosophy" and "art with purpose" mean for me.

Tonight I have had a deepening of my experience and understanding of why process art as a core component of the installations I have been developing.

Process artists were involved in issues attendant to the body, random occurrences, improvisation, and the liberating qualities of nontraditional materials such as wax, felt, and latex. Using these, they created eccentric forms in erratic or irregular arrangements produced by actions such as cutting, hanging, and dropping, or organic processes such as growth, condensation, freezing, or decomposition.

Source: http://www.guggenheimcollection.org/site/glossary_Process_art.html

What they refer to as random occurrences I see as synchronicity when they advance the work to become part of the process. In this multilateral framework these are points of Source:Convergence.
Where most work has been concerned with growth in context of plants or base perspectives, this one is concerned with growth in consciousness, self awareness and personal fulfillment on the individuals and collective/community levels.

Process art

U.S. and Europe, mid-1960s
Process art emphasizes the “process” of making art (rather than any predetermined composition or plan) and the concepts of change and transience….

Their interest in process and the properties of materials as determining factors has precedents in the Abstract Expressionists’ use of unconventional methods such as dripping and staining. In a ground-breaking essay and exhibition in 1968, Morris posited the notion of “anti-form” as a basis for making art works in terms of process and time rather than as static and enduring icons, which he associated with “object-type” art. Morris stressed this new art’s de-emphasis of order through nonrigid materials, pioneered by Claes Oldenburg, and the manipulation of those materials through the processes of gravity, stacking, piling, and hanging.

Source: http://www.guggenheimcollection.org/site/glossary_Process_art.html


Where formal discussions of process art is concerned with "properties of materials" and expanding the understanding of "unconventional methods".

The adaption of Process Art to a context that is possible of engaging larger communities rather than ascribed as a luxury of the few.

Taken several steps further SoulFood as framework for the Source Artist Process-internal. Attention has been paid to the survey of the ingredients .

This is most definitely research into the metaphysics of art applied to real life challenges.

1. Personal growth through art as process
2. Transparent model for the above as part of sustainability and community renewal
3. Research and Development into implementations of open economies as part of the above
4. Helps define intangible assets and economies that can leverage opportunities previously mentioned
5. Concept for works of art that are interconnected expressions of the above

Accepting the Process and Lessons in Peace

There are not many places that support large files, so I have really come to appreciate what makes Youtube the top video sharing site.

Originally, I had planned to only share these videos internally with the core team I have been working with, but I changed my mind. One of the reasons I decided to share them although it doesn't perfectly reflect my vision is that this series is largely inspired by my own issues with perfectionism....breaking an old pattern to learn about self-acceptance. This is major issue in creating peace, as the lack of it in the world is a reflection of the same lack in each of us as individuals.

If we can not accept ourselves then we can accept someone else and this leads to the need to be judgmental, blame, and even punish others.

The opportunity to be loss makes it worth the risk for my ego to share this imperfect video and I see that if I didn't I would miss the chance to be the first or one of the first to chart this new territory.

In addition, this is how space is made for other people to join in. This There has to be room for others to join and express the best of themselves and that means they need to see the change their contribution makes in really clear ways. If I waited until I covered all the pieces myself or just hired professional firms then the chance to engage people at the grassroots level in the most meaningful ways would be loss.

That is fundamental to the concept, expressed ideally in "stone soup" story.

In this case, I show up with an idea and a pot--- Ron was the first to pay attention, which led to everyone else that followed having something to pay attention or contribute to - intangible assets (knowledge, talent, etc.) or physical resources (money, technology, etc.) expressed in the SoulFood model as the vegetables, meat, spices and that is how the meals (aka projects) come to be....we then can document with these videos and artworks that Cultural Fusion process and see how it take shape in a way that to me seems more honest than if it was just written as an article, paper, etc in retrospect.

So that is what I have learned and has led to this little series I am playing with now. For paid client projects I would hire a team but at the moment this serves it purpose and is not intended to represent a finished product.

Enjoy!

Art and Politics- An Alternative to Protest Art

I have long been an advocate for end user led innovation, especially in IT. Recently I have been pondering connections between our failed check and balances in U.S. political arena. I generally don't get into politics here but because we have only traveled further down this road I feel I have an obligation to at least put some questions and information forward. It is hard for me to believe that Americans don't care, and it seems that those outside the States may be completely unaware of what is happening.

Also, with my interest in social capital this has been a primary instance that I have been paying attention to for a number of years. For several years, I have asserted that this decline in social capital would have economic consequences and I feel the market crash is an indicator of this.

Cultural Fusion has emerged from my interest in finding an alternative to Protest Art because as an artist we have an responsibility/choice to comment on the times we live in as we see/experience them.....and even better, Cultural Fusion intends to be part of solutions. Obviously, I like to keep things as positive and proactive as possible and this is no exception.

Key questions I have are:

Did the Gonzales firings in the Dept. of Justice thwart investigations into voter fraud or irregularities?

Why did Kerry concede the election when he knew that not doing so would have supported checks and balances working to investigate questionable results?

Why are the people shut out of the process of selecting voting machines and operating software?

Given that these issues have gone largely unaddressed what is the point of the Presidential campaign where no one pays attention to such a fundamental usurping of political credibility?

Will ignoring this problem yield results similar to what we have seen on Wall Street?

AND what does that mean for you?

The series of video projects I am working on now are not blatantly political but the ideas I am exploring them have evolved in this context (at least in part). However, the video art projects are less concerned with rehashing the problem(s) as much as it is presenting a context for solutions....not by focusing on the symptoms but going to the heart of the matter which really isn't so much about politics as it is the status quo in general. In that paradigm the underlying deficit in social capital - and the personal expression of that reality in the lives of millions of individuals merit attention that can perceive the broader context.

For up to the minute info on this issue see Black Box Voting
If you have not seen it already, please watch and share this video