Quatrain #9: Autumn Laugh

Spell fall backwards, and what do you get? And now I'm wondering if you did... laugh, I mean. It never ceases to amaze me how this season penetrates my mind with such a depth of muse and reflection. To bring a little balance to all the gravity that prevails, I like to recall a guy in high school tossing out a quote to class one morning; "life is too serious to be taken seriously," he said confidently.

In Michigan anyway, this season has so many properties of the natural world signaling so loudly, almost laughingly, to remind us silly humans that the only thing remaining constant is change itself. And this is one of the reasons why I love to photograph so much, because it gives me opportunities to pause and laugh, and of course experience so many other feelings that are evoked from the world as it unfolds around me. If I photograph everyday the connection to my world can be profound, since the idea of change is evident each time I see through a lens. Yes.

Quatrain #8: Effervescence

Is the glass half empty, or half full? Although optimism vs. pessimism is not exactly what I intend to convey, I think you at least get the visual of the phrase, but then can allow the liquid in the glass to serve as metaphor for one's mind.

Either way — half empty, or half full — let's say there's sparkling water in that glass with an immeasurable number of effervescent bubbles racing to the surface. If bubbles are metaphor for questions, then that means each of us are seeking for an immeasurable number of answers. Funny thing is... once we think we've found an answer, sometimes it's only a new place to begin pointing more questions.

The effervescence of mind must be deeply contemplated from time to time... burp.

Quatrain #7: Collective Unconscious

So I've been wondering about this experience of finding visually congruent forms. The discovery of these similarities from wildly different situations are weeks or months apart. Assembling them conjured up a mélange of being both mystified and intrigued. It's not like I pre-meditated the idea of, "I think I'll seek out red and yellow color notes today." To be perfectly honest, the import chronology of these images goes 2, 4, 1, then 3. It would be logical to assume that I saw them in the order presented in this quatrain, but if that were the case, it would make for an entirely different visual metaphor, if at all [view it]. The assembly viewed above might imply that seeing "1" meant that I sought out "2," and then especially "3 & 4" to round out the collection, but again, that's not the case.

I've stated this in a previous posting, but the experience of finding is pure serendipity. There is no plan. All I can do is trust the intuitive response when I find it, trust the unconscious whisper, look at this, take this, and then move forward. I saw this t-shirt the other day with a classic Yoda quote on it that said, "do or do not, there is no try." And it's a lot like that. I'm just doing.

So then, is this process pre-visualization? Not so much. Then is this process post-visualization? Definitely. I edited the next paragraph from the graduate essay I wrote on visual literacy, and although it requires a little extra bending of one's brain, it can help define what I'm doing. It defines what a lot of artists are doing.

So regardless of the prefixes of "pre-" (earlier) and "post-" (future), both modes of seeing define the profound connection they have to an antecedent of some kind. Each final image [quatrain] does not truly supplant these earlier fragments, because they have collectively become the anterior. The idea of post-visualization parodies the idea of pre-visualization, and helps identify postmodernism, or as cultural theorist Jean-François Lyotard states, "Postmodern would be understanding according to the paradox of the future (post) anterior (modo)." If this just confuses the heck out of you, don't worry. But if you think about how people created art with the technologies of the modern era, compared to now, then the definition of the postmodern era might make a little more sense.

So after all that dissection of process, you might be wondering about the title of this quatrain, which is the real reason why this posting is here. Well, that's another Jungian thing that I like to think about, and that I've have something to say about, but ultimately what that something is relies on you.

Quatrain #6: Communication Breakdown

It's easy... If we talk, then we trust someone is listening... If we write, then we trust someone is reading... but do they really understand what we're saying? I know for certain that some viewing this post having no idea what I am trying to convey, but that's OK... so just see what you think.
Oh,wait!... what I mean is... think what you see.

Quatrain #5: Seeking Clarity

I can't say it any better than this... "Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart... Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes." C. G. Jung. Letters, Vol. 1: 1906-1950. Princeton Univ. Press