Listening to a speaker this weekend at the Oregon Country Fair I was struck once again by how all things are connected at the farthest reaches of abstract reasoning. The various approaches of different disciplines seem to reach similar conclusions At first, the speaker came at it from a mathematical approach, then physics, then astrophysics and metaphysics. Ultimately these approaches came to a similar conclusion: Everything in the universe that we perceive is vibrating. Everything. Ergo, there is much that we humans do not perceive. In order for a human to perceive anything, whatever it is has to be shooting energy toward us, like the light of a star. Just because there seems to be empty space between the things we perceive does not mean that there is nothing there, but merely that we do not perceive it. Wow!
To an artist, negative space is a familiar idea. Negative space is as much a part of the drawing as the marks. It is tangible and has enormous weight. Developing a composition takes into account the entire space, both negative and positive. One tries to create some sort of cohesion. Yet 2-D artists are limited by the eye. By using that human organ we try to evoke other ideas and more subtle perceptions by using color, visual texture and movement, and triggering memories of past experiences. We play with perception But that seems sort of like working backwards doesn't it? The negative space the speaker talked about is vast, unknowable, mysterious, and not limited to a canvas or piece of paper.
As humans, hubris is one of our biggest flaws. We like to think we know everything and can manipulate our world without consequence. We like to be the center of our universe. The speaker's talk reminded me how fragile and narrow human perception is and how we limit ourselves when we are not open to all possibilities. I am awed by the enormity of it all and how frightening and confusing these ideas could be to someone. Thinking about it made me feel more compassion for those who choose dogma or prejudice to organize their worlds into manageable boxes. For myself, however, my curiosity outweighs my fear, and I have long sought explanations that match my experiences.
