The Uncommissioned

The pursuit of art is something many people are drawn to and in many cultures it has been looked upon as something noble and worthwhile. It has intrinsic value; where the creation of the art itself is the main goal and everything else is secondary at best.

For the artist, it's a way to stop time, reflect and visit other worlds. It can be deeply personal and at its best communicate something others recognize in themselves. Despite all the joyful things about art, the artistic journey itself can be a difficult one. It requires patience, practice and a willingness to keep learning. It's also a uniquely individual pursuit and perhaps that's what makes it so interesting.

"Yet no student should ever be discouraged with such mistakes for they are part of the profession. The art of painting is a matter of seeing mistakes, overcoming obstacles and keeping fundamental principles always at hand." -Edgar Payne

Source: Composition of Outdoor Painting, p. 138, 7th ED.

Creating and sharing art can also be an emotional and personal experience and dealing with criticism is a balancing act between motivation and artistic growth. In many ways, growing as an artist is like climbing a mountain where you reach a goal, but then realize it's a plateau and you see another mountaintop further up in the far distance. Every plateau gets harder to climb.

Edgar Payne believed that the study of painting is the "art of thinking" and that an artist should remain open-minded, continually revisit what they have learned and seek new perspectives:

"The study of art is something that cannot be once completed and then set aside. Knowledge is never complete. Research and meditation are always the source of new ideas." -Edgar Payne

Source: Composition of Outdoor Painting, p. 20, 7th ED.

Another interesting idea comes from art teacher Robert Henri, quoted by Walt Disney in the short film
4 Artists Paint 1 Tree (1958).

"One of the great difficulties of an art student is to decide between his own natural impressions and what he thinks should be his impressions." -Robert Henri

Source: Robert Henri, The Art Spirit (1923), quoted by Walt Disney in 4 Artists Paint 1 Tree (1958).

This touches on another aspect of learning art. We are constantly exposed to other artists, ideas, opinions and styles. It is easy to be influenced and even limited by what we admire most and what we believe good art is supposed to be. Becoming a better artist is not just about learning the techniques of drawing and painting, but in many ways it is also about recognising and developing our own way of seeing things.

Creativity and imagination are inherently human qualities. But is there such a thing as a collective unconscious? Do we sometimes draw inspiration from something beyond our own individual experiences?

Carl Jung believed that beneath our individual experiences lies a deeper layer of the psyche containing universal patterns and images, which can find expression through art, dreams and mythology. Perhaps some of the images that emerge when we create are not entirely our own, but connected to something we share as human beings.

"By giving it shape, the artist translates it into the language of the present, and so makes it possible for us to find our way back to the deepest springs of life. Therein lies the social significance of art: it is constantly at work educating the spirit of the age, conjuring up the forms in which the age is most lacking." -Carl Jung

Source: Carl Jung, The Spirit in Man, Art and Literature, "On the Relation of Analytical Psychology to Poetry",
paragraph 130, p. 82 (1966 edition).

Joseph Campbell explored mythology and its connection to the human psyche. He saw myths as expressions of something deeper that humans share, drawing parallels between storytelling and our dreams. When asked what imagination is, Campbell replied:

“The imagination is moved by its own inward experiences, by your own inward experiences of the aspects of your psyche that are asking for fulfillment in your life.” -Joseph Campbell

Source: Joseph Campbell, The Power of Myth (1988), transcript of the conversation with Bill Moyers.

Artist John Harris has spoken about where his imagination comes from and about a feeling that has been with him since childhood:

"All any artist can ever do is try to express the heart's response to his or her world. Ever since I can remember, my awareness has been dominated by the sense of being on a world swimming through a vast unknown space. I don't know where this idea came from, or when it became a feature of my life." -John Harris

Source: John Harris, interview by Andrew Lasane, Complex, May 21, 2014.

What I find particularly interesting here is that Harris describes a feeling that seems to have existed long before he consciously understood it or began expressing it through art. It's almost as if the images were a way of exploring something that had already been living in his imagination for years.

He also talks about the importance of mystery and the value of not knowing all the details in an age shaped by AI. The unknown in many ways gives us freedom to imagine:

"One of the great joys of living, I think, is the mystery that surrounds us, you know? I don't want to particularly know the full details of anything, I really don't! The unknowing is part of the fun." -John Harris

Source: John Harris, interview with Andrew Liptak,
The Substance of Space and the Human Imagination, 15 Nov 2023.

Harris also reflects on his childhood habit of looking at cracks in ceilings and marks on walls and imagining spaces within them.

"There was this sense of illusions of depth which excited me, but I don't remember filling these voids with anything or any people. There's no doubt in my mind that this was a practice which honed my visual imagination, but it was a feeling I was after." -John Harris

Source: John Harris, interview with Andrew Lasane, Complex, May 21, 2014

This could suggest that imagination doesn't necessarily start with an idea or something specific, but can sometimes begin with just a feeling, a fascination or an undefined impulse.

“So I ask, in my writing, What is real? Because unceasingly we are bombarded with pseudo-realities manufactured by very sophisticated people using very sophisticated electronic mechanisms. I do not distrust their motives; I distrust their power. They have a lot of it. And it is an astonishing power: that of creating whole universes, universes of the mind. I ought to know. I do the same thing.” -Philip K. Dick

Source: Philip K. Dick, How to Build a Universe That Doesn't Fall Apart Two Days Later (1978).

He also looks beyond fiction to the realities produced and distributed by media and other powerful institutions:

"But the problem is a real one, not a mere intellectual game.
Because today we live in a society in which spurious realities are manufactured by the media, by governments, by big corporations, by religious groups, political groups -- and the electronic hardware exists by which to deliver these pseudo-worlds right into the heads of the reader, the viewer, the listener." -Philip K. Dick

Later in the essay, Dick's reflections on manufactured realities and the people affected by them eerily mirror today's debate about generative AI:

“But I consider that the matter of defining what is real -- that is a serious topic, even a vital topic. And in there somewhere is the other topic, the definition of the authentic human.
Because the bombardment of pseudo-realities begins to produce inauthentic humans very quickly, spurious humans -- as fake as the data pressing at them from all sides. My two topics are really one topic; they unite at this point. Fake realities will create fake humans.” -Philip K. Dick

He continues:

“Or, fake humans will generate fake realities and then sell them to other humans, turning them, eventually, into forgeries of themselves. So we wind up with fake humans inventing fake realities and then peddling them to other fake humans.” -Philip K. Dick

Dick later takes the argument further, considering how language and perception can be used to shape people's understanding of reality:

"The basic tool for the manipulation of reality is the manipulation of words. If you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use the words. George Orwell made this clear in his novel 1984. But another way to control the minds of people is to control their perceptions.
If you can get them to see the world as you do, they will think as you do. Comprehension follows perception. How do you get them to see the reality you see? After all, it is only one reality out of many." -Philip K. Dick

Reading this today, it's difficult not to think about how generative AI is changing our relationship with imagery, the creative arts, culture and information overall. Although the technology is different, the underlying question remains remarkably relevant. What happens when the ability to manufacture highly convincing realities becomes so accessible that almost anyone can do it?

What can possibly motivate someone to make art? In his MasterClass series, David Lynch talks about the difference between making films for financial gain and following your own creative interests:

"You die once because you sold out, and you die twice because it was a failure." -David Lynch

Source: David Lynch and Kristine McKenna, Room to Dream (2018).

He contrasts this with Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992). Although the film received a poor reception at the time and struggled commercially, Lynch felt differently about making it:

"You can live with yourself perfectly fine if you stay true to what you love." -David Lynch

Source: David Lynch and Kristine McKenna, Room to Dream (2018), p. 237.

Lynch was also approached by George Lucas to direct Return of the Jedi, the third Star Wars film. He declined because he felt it was Lucas's film and world. In an interview with BOMB Magazine, Lynch reflected on how both he and Lucas followed their own creative interests, but with very different audiences:

"I always say that I really believe that George Lucas or Steven Spielberg do what they truly love. They make the films they truly love. And it just happens that there are billions of people who like the same things they like. And there are others who make the films they truly love, but the audience is very small." -David Lynch

Source: BOMB Magazine, David Lynch by Michael Saur, July 18, 2013.

In another interview, Lynch summed up the difference between himself and Lucas with a little humour:

"George is a guy who does what he loves. And I do what I love. The difference is, what George loves makes hundreds of billions of dollars." -David Lynch

Source: David Lynch, interview at Hudson Union Society (2010). Published by Film89, September 7, 2017. Read the interview.

On how he became an artist, Lynch describes meeting Toby Keeler in eighth grade. Toby mentioned that his father was a painter. Lynch initially thought he meant a house painter.

His recollection in an interview with Hans Ulrich Obrist:

“At first I thought he meant a house painter, but then he said, ‘No, fine art painter’ and a bomb went off in my head. In that millisecond, I only wanted to be a painter.” -David Lynch

Source: On Memory, Chance and Intuition: David Lynch In His Own Words, interview by Hans Ulrich Obrist, AnOther Magazine (2014).

In the autobiographical documentary David Lynch: The Art Life, Lynch talks about how his interest in filmmaking began. He describes an experience while working on a painting that gave him the idea of a moving painting with sound. This eventually led to his first experimental film, Six Men Getting Sick (Six Times) (1967):

“And I was painting a painting about four-foot square. And it was mostly black, but it had some green plant and leaves coming out of the black. And I was sitting back, probably taking a smoke and looking at it. And from the painting I heard a wind. And the green started moving. And I thought, ‘Oh! A moving painting, but with sound.’ And that idea stuck in my head. A moving painting” -David Lynch

Source: David Lynch: The Art Life (2016), directed by Jon Nguyen.

Different people can have very different experiences and opinions when watching the same film. In Sculpting in Time, Tarkovsky talks about an equipment engineer from Kalinin who says that the film Mirror is unhealthy and that audiences don't need films like it. In contrast, Tarkovsky also describes receiving a letter from a woman who had been deeply affected by Mirror.

“Thank you for Mirror. My childhood was like that. ... Only how did you know about it?” -Woman from Gorky

Source: Andrei Tarkovsky, Sculpting in Time (1986), Introduction, p. 10.

Tarkovsky explains that these personal responses meant more to him than much of the professional criticism. They helped him understand what he was working for.

He was also dismissive of the interpretations people attached to his paintings. In another interview, he explained that his work was not intended to criticise anyone or deliver a moral message:

"I am not trying to criticise anyone or even particularly observe the world. The world does interest me, of course. I am immensely attached to life." -Zdzisław Beksiński

Source: Robię to, na co mam ochotę, interview with Zdzisław Beksiński. Original Polish interview. Translation from Polish.

He went on to explain why he painted the subjects he did:

"I paint what I paint because certain landscapes and scenes simply interest me more and the reason for this isn't even obvious to me." -Zdzisław Beksiński

There is also a difference between making art for the pleasure of creating and making it as a profession. When art becomes work, creativity alone is not always enough. Ideas need to be developed, problems need to be solved and sometimes we need to step back and look at our own work from a different perspective. This is where design comes to mind. In simple terms, design is about organising and shaping elements to serve a specific purpose.

Working as an artist professionally also requires other skills, such as communication, organisation and speed. Here, you are on the clock, working for a client or company. You need to distance yourself from the work and learn new skills.
While some people in the modern world make a living from fine art, many others work as illustrators, VFX artists or video game artists. These professions are also becoming increasingly multidisciplinary, combining 2D, 3D, design and all kinds of technical knowledge.

I find this last part particularly interesting. It is easy to become so absorbed in what we are creating that we lose the ability to judge it objectively. Mead describes the importance of being able to detach ourselves from the work and observe what we are doing, almost as an outside spectator.

He also had an interesting way of describing imagination itself:

"Imagination is essentially memory. It's putting different elements together in different combinations.
It's a process of arranging knowledge into new formats." -Syd Mead

Source: Syd Mead, 2019: A Future Imagined, VICE (2010).

What we create is often a combination of things we have already seen, experienced and learned. The more we expose ourselves to different things, the more material we have to draw from.

Perhaps this is also where the craft of making art comes into play. It is not only about having ideas or being able to execute them, but also about developing the ability to evaluate our own work and knowing when something needs to change.

Being critical and able to evaluate one's own work can be challenging. It's easy to become attached to specific ideas or decisions made earlier in the process. This makes it difficult to see the result objectively. "Too many cooks" is another expression that comes to mind here, where an original idea or approach can become watered down through what is often called "design by committee".

Marshall Vandruff discusses a way to approach this in the Draftsmen podcast, drawing on Edward de Bono's Six Thinking Hats. When it comes to self-critique, Marshall suggests using three of the hats in a particular order: blue, white and red.

The blue hat represents the big picture. What is the purpose of the work and what do we want to achieve? As Marshall puts it:

"The blue hat lays out the issues." -Marshall Vandruff

The white hat is about neutral observations, looking at the work without being biased by feelings. The red hat represents our emotional response. What do we prefer? What do we like or dislike? Marshall describes the relationship between the white and the red hats as having:

"both facts and feelings." -Marshall Vandruff

He also makes an interesting observation about how we tend to favour certain ways of thinking:

"Some of us go for the hat we're most comfortable with and maybe ignoring the one we need most." -Marshall Vandruff

His suggested order is quite simple:

"Start with the big picture, then give the facts then run with the feelings." -Marshall Vandruff

I find this to be an interesting way of approaching the process. We often get so involved in making something that it becomes difficult to see it clearly. Deliberately switching between these different ways of thinking can help us take a step back and evaluate our work from more than one perspective.

Marshall also makes a distinction between the role of intuition when creating art and when critiquing it:

"The red hat is very valuable for artists in making decisions about how to compose any work of art. It's very risky for critiquers and often useless but I think that great artists find their opinions for their work in themselves." -Marshall Vandruff

He continues:

"That seems what prompts people to be artists in the first place, is that I want to make the decisions according to how I like it." -Marshall Vandruff

What makes art and the pursuit of it so interesting is that there is no final destination or definitive answer to why some people are drawn to create. An artist draws from their experiences, their imagination and everything encountered along the way.

We can create to communicate something, to explore ideas or often simply because we enjoy it. Or, as Beksiński put it, because it's "a kind of subtle perversion". Even when creating art becomes a profession, one should not lose sight of that original fascination or impulse, the curiosity and desire to create that made us pick up the paintbrush or camera in the first place. Perhaps the uncommissioned work is where we are reminded of this the most.