The call of the wild...or shall I stay indoors?

I went for a run yesterday. Running can be quite meditative. It shakes my mind and my body and draws up any lethargy that's been collecting. It leaks out in my sweat and I feel like I'm running away from my own laziness. Or running to combat my laziness. I also get restless. So running is a great antidote to restless jigging and building frustration.

I'm in the south of Finland on holiday. I kept to the road on my run, but there were tall silver birch and pine trees either side of me, where the forest stretches out.

As I ran, I stole glances into the trees. I always associate the forest with peace and stillness. But as I peered into it, a deep sort of anxiety started to well up. The forest here was wild, unkempt, close to people, but not looked after by them. I could spy rotting, fallen trees and thick darkness. Masses of moss and tangled branches. There was something chaotic and futile about it.

 

I am the first to romanticise nature and idealise notions of 'returning to the wilderness' but I started to realise just how divorced I really am from the wild. I am a smart-phone wielding, distracted, safety-groping modern person with little knowledge of nature beyond the greenness we cultivate in our back gardens. I am a massive, laughable hypocrite. I love the ideal postcard picture of a forest, not the real thing.

As I ran and looked into the forest, I thought about creativity, artists and anyone who dares to travel to the edges and beyond what men and women have already cultivated. I thought about madness. Henri Matisse famously said 'creativity takes courage.' Looking into the dark forested chaos from the paved road I started to feel like I understood what he meant.

The act of creativity involves submitting to chaos. It means going beyond the social constructs of all the labels and boxes we have created to order things and put ourselves in a position of mastery. To create something new, one first has to screw up and destroy all sense-making maps and step off the trodden path. Creativity is walking into the wild and trying to keep your wits about you, letting yourself be an instrument, absorbing what you see, using your eyes as if for the first time, and then hopefully coming back with new forms of meaning. Prolific American artist Georgia O'Keefe's words in a 1923 letter to Sherwood Anderson ring out; 'whether you succeed or not is irrelevant - there is no such thing. Making your unknown known is the important thing - and keeping the unknown always beyond you.'

We worry about creating meaning as a species. Don't all our forms of progress come from creativity? Daring to imagine something new? Realising there are endless ways of making sense of chaos. Submitting to nothing, and coming back with something.

In 'The Courage to Create', American existential psychologist Rollo May distinguishes creativity as the product of a raw, undefended encounter between self and world. Courage is needed to withstand the intense anxiety provoked by a natural world with no meaning ascribed to it. When one puts aside empirical fact, order, the history of everything we 'know' and meets the world just as it is,

'Our sense of identity is threatened; the world is not as we experienced it before, and since self and world are always correlated, we no longer are what we were before[...] The anxiety we feel is temporary rootlessness, disorientation; it is the anxiety of nothingness.'

May goes on to define artists as those who 'do not run away from non-being, but by encountering and wrestling with it, force it to produce being.'

I wrote the below after my run and wanted to share it here. There's a sense  of futility to it, but I'm not going to apologise for that. Futility is uncomfortable, but it exists. Artists probably know it well. It's a scribbled homage to all the artists out there, sacrificing themselves as instruments, travelling beyond their edges, and bringing back visceral meaning for all of us.

What if we veer off course?
End up lost, among the fallen trees, compounded by moss,
Confused by thick, impenetrable bracken.
Weighed down by the damp, with just an echo for company,
An echo that fritters away, gets swallowed by the deepest forest,
And disappears.
Into nothing.

What if we submit to the chaos and it devours us?
Turning to see the path we marked on the way here, to keep us safe,
We are shocked to find that it's gone.
Was it ever there, we start to wonder...
Did order exist at all,
Or did we dream it up to put ourselves at ease?

What now?
We summoned the courage to create,
And we teeter on the edge, grabbing at the hand of destruction,
Desperate for company when we find ourselves alone.
Futility creeps in on us with the beetles.
Is this the only way back to ourselves?

What if we lose the web of language that keeps us rooted,
If we see new forms we cannot live without.
How do we express them?
How do we share them?
Will people call us crazy?
Will we be crazy?

Trapped in limbo with the longing call of the wild,
With messages for men and women who no longer possess ears to hear.
Will you take us back, when we have been away so long?
Or maybe we've walked too far,
Stepped over the edge.
We're knee-deep in chaos and there's nothing left.

Either way, wouldn't you rather say you took the risk?

 

 

Kurt Vonnegut on creativity

Kurt Vonnegut (1922 - 2007) was an American author and humanist. I imagine his passion for humanitarian issues may have grown after witnessing the allied firebombing of Dresden towards the end of World War II. At the time, he was an American POW trapped in an underground meat locker. That's not the sort of thing that leaves you with a good impression of humanity. Please see my earlier blog on Slaughterhouse-Five for a link to more info on the Dresden Firebombing.

In addition to war,Vonnegut experienced other significant tragedies during his earlier years - his Mother committed suicide on Mother's Day while he was home on leave from the war in 1944. His sister Alice died of cancer only hours after her husband had died in a train crash.

Some of these experiences may lend themselves to Vonnegut's writing style - which typically centres around tragi-comic science fiction storylines. Vonnegut explained in an interview that his forays into outer space surrealism in 'Slaughterhouse-Five' were intended to provide relief to his reader, from the heavy subject of war. I can only imagine these tangents were first employed to provide relief to Vonnegut himself, who had lived first-hand the horrors of war he was tackling in his fiction. The art of fiction itself was perhaps a way to cope with what he had encountered. Art gave Vonnegut the possibility to create something meaningful to share from such utter destruction. Perhaps, in a sense, he was able to escape the heavy burden of what he had witnessed by releasing it to the world.

Read more about Vonnegut's life and career here.

All I really wanted to share here was Vonnegut's below words on creativity, which I love.

John Cleese on Creativity

John Cleese's 1991 lecture for Video Arts on the nature and process of creativity is well worth 36 minutes and 10 seconds of your time.

Here is why...

Light bulb jokes aside (watch and you will know what I'm on about), Cleese expresses some enlightening views on the process.
He opens his talk with a disclaimer for the audience:
'I can state categorically that what I have to tell you tonight about how you can all become more creative is a complete waste of time.'

Why is Cleese going to waffle on if it's a waste of time? Because, he continues, creativity simply 'cannot be explained.' I agree with him here. The definition of creativity is as follows:
'the ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns, relationships, or the like, and to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods, interpretations, etc' 
Essentially the very fact that I just looked up 'creativity' in the dictionary proves Cleeses' point; trying to pin it down is ridiculous.

 

The process entails making something that does not yet exist from what does exist before us. It is the development or rearrangement of an idea. It is the unexplained, the force outside knowing and science and all that can be pinned down and labeled by humans. It is a willingness and openness to connect with the unknown elements and play with them; enter them fully and try not to be afraid or conscious of the time or pressure for a decisive outcome.

Cleese agrees with American psychologist Donald Mackinnon's analysis that creativity is not a talent or an inherent skill, but 'a way of operating'. It has nothing to do with IQ, or the sort of person you are.It merely depends on an individual getting themselves into a certain 'mood'. Mackinnon believed that this mood was strongly based around a state of 'playfulness'. Creativity involves play for the sake of enjoyment, rather than merely a practical need to solve a problem.

Cleese reckons there are five factors that must be met in the transition from the everyday 'closed' state many of us inhabit in the workplace etc, to the 'open' state where we are exposed to the unknown and free to make new connections and play. I have summarised the five factors Cleese speaks about below:

1. Space - a quiet space where you will be undisturbed and cut off from the pressures and demands of everyday life.
2. Time - we must decide on a time that we will inhabit our quiet, sealed-off space so that we can indulge in play, which is entirely separate from everyday life.
3. Time - not a typo, time is important again here in a different sense. Time was utilised above to create a period for play. Now it forms an important factor during play. The longer we are prepared to spend on a creative idea, the better it is destined to become. The discomfort of staying in this 'open' mode with no decisive sealed off answer rewards us with a greater outcome at the end.
4. Confidence - the fear of 'making a mistake' will stifle creativity. In the 'open' mode, it is essential to stop censoring ourselves. Play requires the confidence to be open to anything; to realise that any 'drivel may lead to the break-through'. 
5. Humour - This is a key factor to playfulness. If we are too 'solemn', play will be stifled. Cleese emphasises the difference between 'solemn' and 'serious'. He attributes solemnity to ego and pomposity. We may on the other hand, consider a 'serious' problem or issue, but we should not be afraid of humour in such situations. It relaxes us and frees us into play.

After listening to John Cleese speak, I am more positive than ever about the merits of creativity. What better way to spend ones time than playing and making something new? The process has the ability to refresh us entirely and knit together the reality of the everyday and the magic of the unknown.

Beyond the Frame: Contemporary Cuban Art

A small exhibition of contemporary Cuban art was open in London's Mayfair district for a week at the end of April (23rd - 28th April at Gallery 27). The exhibition was then on show in Glasgow (7th - 13th May at The Lighthouse). I checked out the exhibition while it was in London and very much enjoyed the mixture of work on display. I have included some pictures of works from the exhibition - and offer an advanced warning that the quality is a bit dodgy!

A little background:

The exhibition has been organised in conjunction with the Cuba Solidarity Campaign. Photography, prints and paintings from 26 contemporary Cuban artists are on display along with works by 20 other international artists, many based in the UK. All art work is for sale throughout the two weeks.
The exhibition aims to rally support, money and publicity for the cause of the Miami Five (Also known as the Cuban Five).

Who are the Cuban Five?

Since 1959, terrorist attacks aimed at destabilising Castro's Cuba have been frequent. Over 3,000 Cubans have died in such attacks carried out by Miami-based terrorist organisations. Most notably, some might recall the 1997 hotel bombings, when several hotels in Havana were targeted in an attempt to destroy the tourist trade.

The Cuban government sent members of the Wasp Network 'La Red Avispa' to Miami in the 1990s to act as foreign agents. Gerardo Hernández, Ramón Labañino, Antonio Guerrero, Fernando González, and René González were among those sent to infiltrate anti-Castro organisations in a bid to prevent further terrorist attacks. The orgnisation was headed by the Dirección de Inteligenica (DI), a branch of Havana’s foreign intelligence service.

The five men passed on information they uncovered about planned attacks to the US government. As a result, rather than following up terrorist leads, the five were arrested by the FBI instead in 1998.
The five were subjected to, what many view as an unfair trial. Pleas made to move the trial from Miami, where there was 'a toxic anti-Cuban atmosphere' were ignored. The five men were sentenced to Miami prison terms in 2001, between the length of 15 years and double life.

Gustavo Díaz Sosa

The Trial, by Joseph K. (2012)

Mixed media on canvas

On its first appeal, the argument of the defense was heeded, and the Court of Appeals agreed to reverse convictions against the five, on the basis that the trial was carried out in a prejudiced environment. However, the Court of Appeals then went on to change its mind and reinstate the convictions. Click here for a more detailed rundown of the case, and here for more information on the campaign to free The Cuban Five.

René González was released in October 2011, after serving the shortest sentence of the five. However, he is restricted to remain on probation in Florida for an additional three years before he can return home. The US government refuses to issue his wife a visa so that she can visit him. In a recent development and after much deliberation, the US government has allowed González to travel back to Cuba for two weeks to visit his severely ill brother (he flew back to the island on 30th March 2012).

Back to the exhibition...

The title of the exhibition 'Beyond the Frame' is extended as a theme in some of the art on display. The title suggests movement beyond the typical role of a frame as 'a boundary or restraint'. It also pays homage to the Cuban Five who were in some ways 'framed' by the US government.

 kennardphillipps

Photo Op (2005)

Photomontage

kennardphillipps toys with boundaries by collapsing different frames of reference to create sensational and shocking images. Here, Tony Blair is pictured, supposedly taking a camera-phone photo of himself in front of a burning oilfield. kennardphillipps presents sovereign power as 'an obscene presence' by putting its figures into the same frame as violent occupation (in this case the war in Iraq).

Luis Enrique Camejo

Sin título/ Untitled (2007)

Oil on canvas

Much of the work on display speaks volumes about Cuban culture, and simultaneously reveals a preoccupation with the questions surrounding the cultural identity of the island. The art shows hints of Spanish, African and American styles and directions.

Eduardo Roca Salazar (Choco)

Ginguindo (2012)

Lithograph

Salazar's prints are distinctly Carribean in style.

 Liudmila Ivella Velasco and Nelson Ramírez de Arellano

Desayuno sobre la Habana (Foto 1 de 5 Absoluto Revolución, 2006) / Breakfast in Havana (1/5 from Absolute Revolution series, 2006)

Photograph

This photo is taken from a series of photographs that explore how Cubans see the world through the image of the Revolution.

Many of the pieces on display are strongly nationalistic. Cuba’s fight for autochthony can be traced back to the island’s political struggle for independence throughout history, and the quashing of its native roots from the beginning of the island’s existence. The Cuban Indian failed to surpass the infracultural level, which meant that no indigenous cultural images survived. From the very beginning then, Cuba was forced to borrow cultural forms and modes of expression from elsewhere. It relied heavily on European modes in the early twentieth century, and of course, mainly, Spanish ones.

Iwan Bala

Cario Cewri Gweigion (Los Gigantes) (2007)

Mixed media, charcoal, chalk, emulsion, ink and collage on handmade Indian Khadi paper

Bala's piece is based on the Spanish parades of los Gigantes, where people are strapped to huge carnivalesque figures that are carried through the streets. Bala also intends the picture to comment on 'political figures, or monarchs, who are a heavy burden that the population have to carry on their shoulders'.

Cuba’s lack of independence in the past, has created the continuous imposition of other cultures upon the island; whether it be as part of the Spanish New World Empire, or Cuba’s shifting dependence upon the superpowers of the US and USSR, Cuba has never been free of transnational influence.

Juan Roberto Diago Durruthy

Día / Day (2011)

Mixed media

Wiliam Hernández Silva

Paisaje infinito/ Endless landscape

Acrylic on canvas

In 'Día', the minimalist face with two eyes and no mouth stares blankly at us. Tension and dischord are evident in the identity, where the face is split into two with twine rope.

In 'Paisaje infinito', Silva paints a beautiful woman tugging at a cloth covered in trees. There are allusions to the physical geography of Cuba as an island surrounded, and controlled in some sense, by the sea surrounding it. The woman depicted could also be seen to personify the transnational influences that have tugged at Cuba throughout its history.

Derek Boshier

Situation in Cuba (Bay of Pigs) (2011)

Watercolour

Boshier's painting portrays the unsuccessful American Bay of Pigs invasion in April 1961. This inversion shows 'the Cuban flag being eaten away by the stars and stripes: the integrity of the small island nation threatened by the might of its foreign neighbour.' (Marco Livingstone, curator and art
historian).

Roberto Salas Merino

Premier Día / First Day (1961)

Black and white photograph

Merino's photograph was taken in Havana in January 1961. It captures the first day of the embargo; the first time that America broke off relations with Cuba. The US embassy is in the background of the shot. The photo is very famous as it captures the starting point of problematic relations between Cuba and the US, which as yet remain unresolved.

Vicente Rodríguez Bonachea

Sin título/ Untitled (2010)

Acrylic on canvas

Bonachea's painting depicts José Martí (1853-95), Cuba's most revered national hero and freedom fighter (he is the old-skool, 'original' Che Guevara, to put it in crude terms) . Martí was a poet, writer, political theorist and leader of the movement for independence from Spain. He also fought against the threat of US expansion in Cuba. Bonachea explains that Martí 'fills every corner of the Cuban soul, thought and behaviour...[he] has been with us since childhood'. The José Martí tower is also seen in the background of Velasco and Arellano's photograph (further up this article), and in one of Guerrero's dove paintings (bottom of article).

Javier Guerra Fernández

San título/ Untitled

Mixed media on cardboard

Cuba faced economical and political problems after gaining independence from Spain in 1902. Even now, as an independent socialist state and with improved US relations under Obama, Cuba remains cut off from America, and influenced hugely by its other superpower neighbour, the USSR.

Geographically, the island is cut off too, giving Cuban culture a strong insular sense of its own. Cuba is a small, but strong country, that has always fought tooth and nail for its independence and developed a strong national identity as a result.

Cuban Artist, Ibrahim Miranda, (not included in this exhibition), describes the Cuban sense of identity as follows:

 "Our insular condition has been a decisive factor in our culture, influencing our myths, fantasies and our national psyche. The sensation of being isolated, separated from everyone, floating in the middle of the sea, has been a strong stimulus to the imagination of Cuban artists."

Manuel Mendive Hoyas

Sin título/ Untitled (2011)
Oil on canvas

The Cuban Revolution signified a turning point in Cuban Art. Art grew and many more art schools were established. Initially there was a sense of restriction for many artists who did not want to produce pro-Castro art sponsored by the State. Many artists went into exile and continued to produce work. It wasn't really until the 1980s that Cuban art sought a new sense of freedom. The new generation started to exercise a new mode of free expression, and one that broke away from external influences.

Two of the Cuban Five, Gerardo Hernández and Antonio Guerrero, have work on show at the exhibition too, although they are still behind bars after 13 years.

Gerardo Hernández draws satirical cartoons, some of those included in the exhibition are below:

The cartoons illustrate the international media portrayal of Cuba and the double standards imminent in US immigration policy.

Hernández creates art as a means of self-expression and liberation beyond his physical imprisonment. He draws cartoons in this style because "someone once said that 'humour liberates' [...and if nobody said that, I will say it now...] and for me it is something that 'gets us out' for at least a few moments from behind the walls where we have been unjustly imprisoned for almost 13 years".

Antonio Guerrero's art works include a painting of his mother, another of Havana as he remembers his city, and a collection of paintings of doves in flight. These pictures encapsulate Guerrero's sense that imprisonment has not destroyed his freedom.

Of his art, Guerrero says: "The long imprisonment hasn't been able to destroy any of the principles on which we were formed. The long imprisonment has been defeated by love and by art."

'Beyond the Frame' exhibited a wide range of contemporary art work from Cuba and around the world. It was refreshing to walk around a small gallery and see such a mixture of work pulled together; most artists showcased only one piece. Although themes were not exclusive, many pieces were representations of liberty, war and Cuban culture.

I am not sure of the sales stats at the end of this exhibiton, but if the little red 'sold' stickers I witnessed under many works three days into opening were anything to go by, I think a large sum will have been raised for the cause. If nothing else, this exhibition was a wonderful celebration of Cuban art and will have brought publicity to the plight of both the artists, and the fight for liberation of the Cuban Five.