Don’t Read This Bullshit

Well, I had to do something to get your attention!!  After all, a study by Microsoft indicates that the average attention span of an American is 8 seconds (nine seconds for goldfish).  We are now at the end of our 8 seconds, so I hope I have interested you enough to read on.

It is the same problem I have as an artist.  If I do not grab your attention and find a way to hold it within 8 seconds I have failed.  So how do I do that?  I do it with large format  digital prints with bright complimentary colors or stark black and white.

But let’s say I grab your attention in the first second or two; I still need to find a way to do hold your attention.  I do that by creating a visual puzzle using lines, shapes, colors, or elements that your mind doesn’t immediately recognize.  I call it the What The Hell Is That Effect?  It is a built in ambiguity that allows the viewer to insert his or her own unique creative abilities into the artistic process.

Now, I know that I have gone way beyond my allotted 8 seconds, but if you have any interest in the psychology of my art, read on (if not read on anyway, it’s interesting).

Have you ever just leaned back on a beautiful starlit night and gazed at the amazing beauty of our solar system.  While you’re stargazing, it is hard not to pick out some of the main groupings and constellations of stars.  I always look first for the big dipper, because it is the easiest to find, but if you know your cosmos well, try and pick out Taurus, the bull, or even better, try and connect the dots (stars) and come up with a shape of your own.

Now think!!  How are you able to do that do that?  There are no water dippers in the sky/ there are no bulls – just some bright dots on a dark background. How did you create objects out of that amorphous group of dots?

What you have done is fulfilled two important psychological principles;  filling in the gestalt and projecting your own psyche into a vague image.  And I bet you thought you were just looking at the sky.

Those are the same two principles I use to create my artistic puzzle.  When you are viewing my digital art, I count on you trying to make sense out of the ambiguity I present to you, just as you did with the constellations in the sky (that is called filling in the gestalt).  Then, as you view this still ambiguous piece of art you interpret it based on your own personal conscious and unconscious needs (psychologists call this the projective hypothesis).  And likewise every other viewer is free to interpret it based on his or her unique needs.   I told you it would be interesting.

That is why I refer to my digital art as Projective Expressionism. Expressionism is a 20th century art movement in which the artist seeks to represent his own personal emotional experience rather than depicting the external world.   My art changes that around.  I use ambiguous depictions of the external world and have the viewer project his or her own personal needs and experiences.  Thus, my goal is to create a synthesis in which my personal vision and your creativity result in a collaborative artistic experience.

Anyway, if you made it this far, I held your attention.  Enjoy my art.  I think it too will hold your attention.