Refusal of the Call (a message to self)

Often in actual life and not infrequently in the myths and popular tales, we encounter the dull case of the call unanswered: for it is always possible to turn the ear to other interests. Refusal of the summons converts the adventure into it's negative. Walled in boredom, hard work, or "culture," the subject loses the power of significant affirmative action and becomes a victim to be saved.

His flowering world becomes a wasteland of dry stones and his life feels meaningless - even though, like King Minos, he may through titanic effort succeed in building an empire of renown. Whatever house he builds, it will be house of death: a labyrinth of cyclopean walls to hide from his minotaur. All he can do is create new problems for himself and await the gradual approach of his disintegration...

The Hero With A Thousand Faces
Joseph Campbell
(First published 1949)

Under the Influence

For any artist in any media, the line between reference, influence, plagiarism and pastiche is a fine one. Even if one knows the line well, there is the issue of how to exclude or include them in your own work?

Being well versed in the history of art-form you are engaged in is a good thing; but when does it become a bad thing? Never before in the history of creativity have we had so much access to so much inspiration.

My house is overflowing with books, records and artefacts from the creative world. Although I am an artist I am also a consumer of creative product, a connoisseur, an expert or at least a dilletante possessed of a strong opinion. I relish in these documents of creativity and in some way define myself by them and by my association with them.

How often when asked to describe a new band or artist would you say "They are a bit like...or it reminds me of such and such". Only the truly innovative, as ever, define categorisation.

Sometimes a particular record or book will fire me up to engage in my own distinct and unique oeuvre of originality. This is often lessened by the awareness that I am 'copying' or 're-interpreting' what I have been so enthused by. Sometimes this realisation of influence kills all creative enthusiasm dead, spurring me to crack another beer and bemoan my own mediocrity.

This is reinforced by the evidence of retro-retro-retro-chic, pervading the media in fashion, music, film and literature. We living in an 'Apres-Garde' time. The regurgitation of previous cultural styles and interests is natural and can be rewarding. However the law of 'copying' states that with each reproduction a loss of quality occurrs. Imperceptible to those who see it for the first time but for those who have seen every decade since their birth repeated culturally at least once it is the law of diminishing returns.

It is often perceived also that the quality of the influence informs the perception of originality. If I utilise junk-mail in my work, that could be seen as ironic, playful and acceptable. If however I utilise the paintings of Pablo Picasso in some way, I am more likely to be judged as a plagiarist or lacking in imagination. This is because of the percieved creative value of the respective source materials not the level of original thought required to interpret them.

When recently in a discussion about plagiarism regarding graphic design, I opined that there was no-one who could realistically claim, completely original work. An opinion for which I was criticised. Though I believe the statement to be true, it was definitely not an insult or a reassurance about my own mediocrity. It was a statement of fact and acknowledgement that the first artist, did not create something entirely original, they interpreted their environment and it is the nuance and quality of that interpretation that we value as art.

outlook for thursday

elevation©burgseye06

Unrelenting National Dream

©burgseye 1996

this smug sporting nation
whose one dimensional dream
blurs the line between passion and unhealthy obsession
is prepared for anything but losing
and when it does, the collective consciousness
is anything but sporting

SPLORE Encore

Kia ora,
Yes the Splore 08 Music and Art Festival is only four months away. If you have never been this is an opportunity to experience the best festival New Zealand has to offer. With a spectacular setting, great music from New Zeland and abroad, art, activity and lots more, Splore is the event of the summer. Where else can you groove hard whilst swimming in the Hauraki Gulf?!
For more information goto: http://www.splore.net/
P.S This event may or may not feature the reverend Y El Presidente?

another roadside attraction

meals on wheels©burgseye07

spirits

spirits©burgseye07

i live in a road once called view, now kohu or mist. both true. today though the latter is apt. the swirling fog of precipitation blankets the forest top. it's said there are fairy folk or terehu who emerge in such conditions. tricks of light play light tricks on the mind. the recesses of the bush are alive. the spirit of whenua never subdued, no matter how much concrete we pour on the tracks.