Uncertainty

There are so many norms that are enlaced throughout our society that individuals are just forced to accept. Without question. Well, we aren't forced to accept it, but we do it anyway. I think it's because we, as a collective, like things to be clear and definite.

 

WILLIAM KENTRIDGE

William Kentridge’s works are influences by the South Africa’s history and milieu. His initial pieces

aim to depict the abhorrent and tragic pain that the nation suffered during this time, and through

this, he imbues his pieces with a criticism of post-Colonial culture.  On a broader scale,

Kentridge’s works frequently explore universal and primordial issues that modern society

encounters. The primary issues are the ambiguity of social constructs like culture and language,

as well as the futile effort to fuse together an individual’s fragmented self. I drew inspiration from

William Kentridge because  of the intent and values that his pieces intimate. At first, the

viewer discerns a  benign picture. But after this initial impression, the piece communicates a

predicament or uneasy scene. Kentridge used a combination of intent and the aesthetic

composition to depict his ideas. Casspirs Full of Love, for example attempts to convey the

oxymoronic nature of using bombs to create peace. It is oxymoronic primarily because of the

misconceptions of the word “peace”. Using that idea as a template, I commented on the nature of

language and how individuals use it. Moreover, he comments on the exaggerated pursuit of

“peace” inciting movement toward violence. He uses evocative imagery to empower his meaning. Why does it matter though? The expression not only masks the abject hypocrisy, it diverts us from the the everyday hard work that we need to do in order to sustain ourselves through our everyday strifes.

 

            “I am interested in a political art, that is to say an art of ambiguity, contradiction, uncompleted gestures and uncertain

            ending - an art (and a politics) in which optimism is kept in check, and nihilism at bay.” - William Kentridge

 

In the same way that Kentridge desires to delineate an uncomfortable truth with his work, I attempt to this with my criticism of language.

The cathedral aspect of the my piece relates to the dogma associated with certain ideologies. The rigidity results in conformity and chauvinism. It is frustrating an individual promoting his/her values of acceptance and love while simultaneously promoting dogma. It results in a sanctimonious arrogance. It’s foolish because it’s saying that I’m better than you because I believe in something that promotes peace. In turn, this creates an incongruence, the antithesis of peace and acceptance. 

 

Antoni Gaudi
Gaudi was a major influence in our collaboration. He was a Spanish Catalan architect who found inspiration for his designs in nature. His focus on geometrical aspects is very intruiging. I tried to incorporate those aspects in my half. This was Manuel's addition to our collaboration, so it has more of an impact on his half of the piece.

 

PROCESS

Manuel and I decided to do make the canvas of our collaboration the pages of a dictionary because it was a theme I was following earlier in the year. Whereas I sought to preserve my message, he redirect his focus to architecture and buildings. We thought this through and found a way to merge our ideas. I also found a way to merge my dictionary project intent with architecture. Because we were merging our concepts, it was difficult to establish how we were going to split up the work. We initially planned to divide the board vertically so that the composition wasn’t fragmented, but rather merged smoothly. Manuel later thought of a more imaginative idea, so we divided the board and set off to work. The salient contrast of our styles and techniques was evident in my disproportionate use of ink. Manuel, on the other hand, used a brush for the majority of his pieces because his style is more freehand and rapid. Generally, I spent more time making sure things were immaculate because it’s in my nature, and as a result, I spent much more time on my side.

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We started by tearing up pages out of an old dictionary, which I was using for my previous project. We glued the pages on the wooden board, which we had just found lying around and painted white. We tried to make it thin and even. Then, I began working with very basic outlines. I realized later that I should’ve established more solid parameters. Unlike Manuel, I was creating my style when I began. Manuel was experimenting with ink and drafting his piece on a rough canvas. I had missed a couple of classes so I had to get started. I developed my style quickly. I especially liked the contrast between dark and light, or shadows and bright spots. The liquidity of the ink made the gradient from dark to light rather easy. I experimented a lot with this shading technique until I established a set way. Moreover, it is intriguing that I started off my side freehand, but as I progressed, I turned to using rulers and measurements. This was because I repeatedly marred the perspective of the cathedral. This occurred because of the varied lines of the dictionary pages. I used different pages as reference points and that was the cause of this perspective error. At this point, I simply put another dictionary page to cover the blemish. I did this twice. It was really frustrating because I had already finished a few pillars but had to cover them up because the perspectives didn’t align. As for the pillars, I used Manuel’s as a template. I was somewhat compelled to match his style as he had started before me. The style was the only variance that we wanted; the structure of the cathedral was to remain uniform. I used the picture of St. Peter's Basilica as a template in order to establish the parameters for the rest of my piece. This template is shown below and was divided into two halves by Manuel and me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MY PIECE: REFLECTION

This piece is a commentary on an atemporal pillar of human culture: language.

The symbolic value of the dictionary and the cathedral are my tools. The dictionary is

merely a facade of what I really aim to explore: words and language. Moreover,

I emulated Kentridge's style by basing my artwork on a wallpaper of antiquarian

publications. I do this in order to assert that these issues I'm talking about are

founded deep in and far into human culture. The lexicographical roots that are 

interspersed throughout society blind individuals absolutely. Our use of words and

language is too liberal, and we use the most controversial and meaningful

words carelessly. We fail to realize that the most difficult words -- love, hope, and freedom -- are those which appear to be simple, yet impossible to define.  HOW CAN WE USE WORDS WE CAN'T DEFINE? Because we do, we cannot use them as truths.

I feel that we must learn to use language to counteract the educational and political vernacular that we encounter. In many ways, language is a form of expression that is used to liberate our minds. However, our experiences in developing and using language attempt to confine and shape our minds. It is also interesting to understand that a definition is arbitrary and it is very subjective how one wishes to interpret a word. In this day and age, society is overwhelmed by conformity and uncertainty resulting in unchallenged dogmas and demarcations. It appears that we transcend these fallacies when we look at our history. Both slavery and racism were legal. The misconceptions about the authority of the government with the use of words like “legal” led to legality being a construct that represents the powerful, not justice. Almost all forms of language that we encounter are biased. Therefore, it is important to recognize the bias that is associated with language, which is what limits us. Words carry different weights and meanings when placed under different contexts. Everything depends on the way a word is defined. Moreover, the way in which language is conveyed influences our perceptions of its meaning significantly, which is why individuals are manipulated in political contexts. It is feasible to conclude that the method and medium in which we speak attaches meaning to the words that we speak. Therefore, it is evident that language itself is both overly certain, and at the same time overly ambiguous. I feel that the most effective way to convey emotion and thought is through metaphors. Metaphors are different because we transcend the limits of a word and its definition. It helps liberalize our mind and create patterns. It helps individuals discover untaught aspects, and crucially, express ideas, emotions, thoughts, concepts, and feelings. In many ways, my art is a visual metaphor. It want it to be a metaphor because I believe that it has flexibility. Essentially, I doubt language because of it’s ability to delude people into certainty, when in reality, the world is encompassed in uncertainty.

 

WHAT'S NEXT

From this project, I have learned many things about my art. I realised I shouldn't rush into starting and should plan it out first. Like Manuel, I should draft the piece quickly on a separate piece of paper. In this sense, I wouldn't have to experiment with shading and technique on my final piece. Moreover, I will not mess up with perspective because I'll have more solid guidlines and parameters. I feel that I can learn a lot from Manuel's style. He's very free hand and casual. I feel that I'm too scrupulous with my art. For future pieces, I would love to further the architectural aspects of my piece. I'm almost definitely going to follow my textual background theme. I really want to explore doorways for my next piece. This interest surfaced when I visited Stone Town in Zanzibar. I found the door designs very intricate and aesthetic. After, I noticed an artist, who's street name is Hemmed, paint these doors. They were very simple, but very beautiful.