From the book, Free Play: Improvisation in Life and Art, by Stephen Nachmanovitch:
Lets return to Michelangelo's idea of removing apparent surfaces to reveal or liberate the statue that had been buried in the stone since the beginning of time. Michelangelo claimed that he was guided by a faculty he called intelleto. Intelleto is intelligence, not of the merely rational kind, but visionary intelligence, a deep seeing of the underlying pattern beneath appearances. Here the artist is, as it were, an archaeologist, uncovering not as ancient civilization but something as yet unborn, unseen, unheard except by the inner eye, the inner ear. He is not just removing apparent surfaces from an external object, he is removing apparent surfaces from the Self, revealing his original nature.
I love this idea of intelleto...for all that we speak and write about our work, there is something compelling us in the studio that is best described as "something as yet unborn, unseen, unheard..." And as much as viewers of art like to know the background story, the intellectual underpinnings, the influences and what the art critics have to say--they too recognize this search and respond to it in a similarly wordless, gut-level way. However individualized (and highly so, in each artist) that searched-for unknown is a universal experience. When an artist is following the intelleto path there is a sincerity and honesty that shines out.
I also love the idea that what is searched for in the work is right there within the self, to be uncovered by chipping through various preconceived ideas and influences. But while there is some casting aside of unnecessary or false leads, there is also an over-riding positive, compelling and joyful aspect of this process--the probing and exploring of memories, thoughts, visual impressions, and what the medium we work with can do to express these. In the Michelangelo analogy, I think it is his trust in the process that speaks of his genius as much as the final sculpture.
(Plenty there to contemplate in this quote, isn't there? And it is just one paragraph from this remarkable book, recommended to me by two painter friends on separate occasions-Carol Beth Icard and Janice Mason Steeves.)
The image above is Landmark 12"x12", oil and mixed media on panel.
Do you ever feel your "eye" has changed after viewing works of art in a gallery or museum? I often have a different view of the world after walking through the Cleveland Museum of Art. I feel I should go and make something.
ReplyDeletei feel I have an "insight" into something hidden or the ability to add content to a new piece of art.
Mary Ann
yes, I believe I know what you mean. Visiting great works of art can be an incredibly rich experience--I tend get all fired up with ideas, even if what I have viewed has little in common with my own work, on the surface anyway. it is something deeper, a communication with a deeper self.
ReplyDeleteAs is so often the case, I feel the need to see your work irl. The book sounds interesting, might have to track it down via Amazon. Thank goodness the NZ dollar's not too bad at the moment LOL.
ReplyDeleteReally great blog! I'm glad I've found him. I love your way of painting and the composition of your artwork.
ReplyDeleteI'll stop by here more often now.
Many greetings
Katharina
When I read about Michelangelo's concept of carving many years ago I was thrilled with it. In May of this year I was in Florence and Rome. I had opportunity to see the work of many sculptors, including Michelangelo. When I was studying his work this idea came back to me. It affected the way I looked at his work and all of the other sculptors as well, Donatello, Canova, etc.
ReplyDeleteWhen I came home I became more and more aware of the interplay between the object we think we are creating and object that is finally revealed. I feel that I am being as much unconsciously guided and I think I am consciously guiding the work.
thanks for the comments, and yes I resonate with being unconsciously or intuitively guided also--and the most interesting paintings for me have this aspect.
ReplyDelete