Whimsy, pure and fine.

 

Art performs many subtle and dramatic roles in our society. It is a varying and multifaceted thing, and its forms overlap, compliment and sometimes oppose each other. It is so varying because we who produce it are so. I am not one fixed and constant thing, I have different heads, moods and motivations that influence my work. Of these many forms I see areas that I move between.

 

There is a whimsy, a humour and a child like playfulness, that sometimes takes the lead. In it’s way I feel it is very important, we should not be too grown up and serious all of the time, we should have moments of silliness and be acquainted with the child’s innocence and purity, I think it is important for perspective and scale, and indeed mental health. 

 

There is also what I might refer to as pure art, that is, the pursuit of beauty, in all it’s aspects; form, colour, texture, movement and sound. These are the things that enrich our lives, quietly in the background, they ask nothing of us, they force no agenda. They are the glimpses of beauty that are caught in the corner of your eye. They are the tranquility that you do not realise you are watching, while your mind is miles away, either dealing with a problem or being momentarily, and happily, vacant. 

 

And then there is that cherished, that controversial, emotive, noble and ignoble thing we call fine art. I define it; if definition is necessary or possible, as art that wishes to impart meaning, topic or emotion. It is a mixture of the whimsy and the pure, with politics and philosophy, propaganda and advertising, psychiatry, psychology and sociology, ideology and humanity. It is discussion and argument, postulation and ridicule, it plays on emotion, it questions concepts, it underlines and highlights, it is moot.

 

In this last area is my passion, in this area I am most complete, every aspect of me is  encompassed here, as an artist, as a maker, and as a human being. This is where I explore my concerns, my frustrations and my observations, but this would not be possible in isolation, without the level and balance of the other areas I also occupy.