Spherism - The Real Deal...
Spherism is nothing more than my take on the Beauty of the world. Everyday I see many different things; people, animals, plants, clouds, stars - moving about their paths, moving through space and time, each doing their own thing. But this is illusion. These things are no more separate from one another than the bones of your body or the fingers of your hand are separate from one another. For if you look closely, if you look with eyes that know how to see, you can see that these things are in fact connected. All things are connected. And it is the wonder, the truly musical interaction of these connections that make this world an extraordinarily beautiful place. This beauty, this harmony, this connection is what I wish to reveal in my paintings.
Why "Spherism"?
A. The March Of Progress
The invention of photography in the 19th century presented a plethora of problems for painters at the time. As sharp and clear images of objective reality could now be made cheaply available to the public, was there any room for the more cumbersome, laborious, and expensive visual arts? It was at this time, however, that the tough got going. Rather than lay down the brush and let painting die, artists adapted; they changed in such a way that an entirely new way of viewing and representing the world came into being: Abstraction.
For five hundred years, observation had been the fundamental ingredient in Western art. Perspective and illusionary space had become so crucial to the work of art that its placement there was utterly beyond question. In artists minds, the entire history of Art had led up to them, and they were but fulfilling mankind's quest for the pinnacle of Great Art. (And quite frankly, if you look at this stuff, especially the French Academy history paintings, they do seem to ooze importance). With the advent of photography, the painter's rule over reality was seriously threatened. Painters were now forced (or freed) to explore new ways to look, to see.
Impressionism was the first foray into reevaluating the process of seeing. Monet, Manet, Degas, and Renoir were all working at this time, creating canvases that were meant not to portray the subject realistically, but rather portray the impression of the subject. A leap had been taken: the Eye alone would not judge the work of art, but the viewer's Mind would now be given a chance to interpret the image. The physical result of this process was that images started to 'dissolve' right before our very eyes. Edges became less distinct, colors melded into one another, and the realistic rendering of objects took a back seat to careful construction of a physical surface of paint. Monet's Haystacks are not about hay; they are about light. Renoir's party scenes are not about the people; they're about the party. Paintings become less objective and more subjective. This process continued through the works of Cézanne, Van Gogh, and Seurat. If you look at these canvases, you can see the surface vibrate, and the paint on them literally start to melt, as the picture dissolves slowly and becomes an ambiguous, but very interesting and new aesthetic experience.
B. Picasso
As the 20th Century dawned, painting was starting to come alive. Painting was wild again, something to be talked about, and more importantly, worthy of being pursued. Unlike earlier predictions, photography did not kill painting, it only revived it. Europe was teeming with bohemian clans of itinerant artists, forming Isms and Post-isms in mad pursuit of Great Art.
Into this fray emerged one who was to be the dominant Artist of the entire century: Pablo Picasso. Seizing upon the trend of deconstruction in modern painting, it was Picasso that lifted his hammer and brought it down on Art forever. With the advent of Cubism, he not only broke apart the subject, he put it back together in a different order, and taught us to see even this as beautiful.
It has been said that art presages reality. In that respect, Picasso was only a harbinger of things to come. Within years of Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, considered the first Cubist painting, Europe was torn apart by the most destructive war in human history. Within twenty years, we managed to split the atom, allowing ourselves to create the single most destructive force known to living entities in the entire Universe. Both the Art and the Science of the times had a dire outlook. Picasso's Guernica remains as one of the most compelling portrayals of the atrocities of war. Phillip Guston and Francis Bacon also tapped into the fear and anxiety of the times in their art. Or did the world tap into theirs?
C. The Post-War Dream
As the second World War ended, America and the Allies emerged into a golden age of peace and plenty: the Fifties. People (and their Art) turned sunny again. One only has to think of Norman Rockwell to picture the prevailing mood. Jackson Pollock, Stuart Davis, and Willem DeKooning painted the scene in the dazzling colors of Abstract Expressionism. Art was wild again, and as the Sixties emerged, Art and America lived the high life in many different ways.
Unfortunately for both parties, nothing lasts forever. The harsh reality of the Vietnam era brought hopes and dreams to a screeching halt. American social and political life suffered a rude awakening, and the Art scene entered a deep slumber. For after Warhol, no artist in the last three decades of the Twentieth century captured the world's attention again.
D. Post-Modernism
Since the early 70's, Art has been nothing but one attempt after another at "The Next Big Thing". Ever hear of The New Illusionism? How about Neil Welliver? Fairfield Porter? Joe Zucker? You must have heard of performance art: when Chris Burden pushed two live wires into his chest? Or that guy that had himself crucified to a Volkswagen Beetle? Hopefully you see what I mean. Art had seemingly run out of ideas. By trying to go one step further from the previous generation's Art, the purveyors of "Post-Modern Art" found themselves at a dead end. This is where I come in.
The Artists of the seventies and eighties were operating under a perception problem. They believed that Art was linear. And linearity produces dead ends. The only way to keep Art fresh, growing, and alive is to see it cyclically . For when one avenue of exploration becomes exhausted, Artists must turn in a curve away from dead ends and into new territory. What makes this path a curved one is the past.
The Artists of the Late Medieval period faced a similar problem. If they had kept plugging on linearly, we would have had nothing more than the Late, Late Medieval period. But instead we got the Renaissance. Why? Because these Artists discovered Classical Antiquity, and incorporated it into their new artistic vision. They did not copy or rehash older Art, instead they took some bit of inspiration and wove it into their own original works. By doing this they created something new that resonated with the past and was invigorated by it. And the course of Art was curved for the next four hundred years.
The Impressionists curved the path again at the end of the nineteenth century, by rethinking classical perspective and looking to the East for "fresher" modes of seeing. And for a century, Art ran headlong down the path of Progress and became so caught up in it that it forgot the path was curved. I am looking to curve the path again, and hopefully steer Art away from stagnation and towards progress again.
E. Spherism
As I see it now, Art is suffering from a disconnection. It has been cut off from its own past by too many "forward-thinking" artists. In their rush to break with their teachers, many young artists work to cleanse their work from any taint of the past, creating "pure" works of new Art. But any historian can see that Purity is not only a myth, but a four-letter word as well. Darwin showed that generations can build upon one another to create new species over time. Spontaneous creation has no part in this Universe. The same is true with Art. By looking into history, mythology, psychology, evolution, religion, and mysticism (to name but a few), I hope to add a new vision to these old symbols to create a new and vital Art. I want to help you to see old things in a new light, while showing you how to see in a different way. Spherism is about harmony and connection, and if you are patient and willing, I hope to help you to see that this Universe we live in is full of Wonders, and that anyone can have access them.