Poetry, Time, and a New Year

 

Emanation III, oil on canvas, 29 x 22 inches,  © Diane McGregor

What we look for beyond seeing
And call the unseen,
Listen for beyond hearing
And call the unheard,
Grasp for beyond reaching
And call the withheld,
Merge beyond understanding
In a oneness
Which does not merely rise and give light,
Does not merely set and leave darkness,
But forever sends forth a succession of living things as mysterious
As the unbegotten existence to which they return.
That is why men have called them empty phenomena,
Meaningless images,
In a mirage
With no face to meet,
No back to follow.
Yet one who is anciently aware of existence
Is a master of every moment,
Feels no break since time beyond time
In the way life flows.

                ~ Lao Tzu, Number 14, Tao Te Ching (translated by Witter Bynner)


I enjoy collecting different translations of the Tao Te Ching.  I am always interested in how various scholars reveal the hidden gems in this widely published classic. I recently came across this translation by Witter Bynner, and I loved it.  I was surprised to learn that he was a Santa Fe poet.  He was famous for hosting large parties attended by artistic and literary celebrities such as D.H. Lawrence, Willa Cather, Ansel Adams, Georgia O'Keeffe, Robert Frost, Aldous Huxley, and W.H. Auden, among many others.  His historic home is now open to the public as a bed and breakfast inn located in downtown Santa Fe.

Wishing all of my readers a transformative 2014!

Simplicity

"An artist makes a spiritual evaluation of the essence within a thing and then he[she] gets it out; that is the outer appearance of the inner essence and, it is the point. Sophisticated materials and complex systems are not necessarily good media for art because art is a simple thing and, the more simple the medium, the less you have to get over to get to the fact of the piece." -- John Chamberlain

Graphite drawing from a 2013 sketchbook, 3x3 inches

I have always loved the simplicity of my materials.  I have not wavered from my use of traditional oil paints on canvas for over 20 years. I always use Schmincke Mussini oil paints on primed canvas -- no fillers, waxes, driers, complex mediums or varnishes, just oil paint and mineral spirits. Graphite on paper is also another favorite choice of media -- and you can't get much simpler than a pencil and a piece of paper.  

I think Chamberlain is correct in stating that there is sometimes a disconnect between the method and materials and the essence of a piece of art, especially in today's art world, where beauty and refinement are often marginalized, and gimmicks and poor craftsmanship seem to get all the attention.  I am honestly perplexed by and frustrated with much of the art that is being produced and treated seriously in today's art market.  Alas, I continue to plod along on the path toward beauty and essence, and I refuse to give up on the spiritual nature of my task.

Surface

 

 

New ideas are germinating in the studio.  I have been doing lots of small graphite drawings in preparation for new paintings that I have planned.  These drawings show my interest in the dissolution of boundaries:  I want all the forms to be in a process of becoming, or transitioning, or fading away.  No lines, no edges, everything melting onto/into the surface, dissolving all points of view onto the surface, and bringing landscape influences toward a non-objective context.  I am seeking to represent a vibration of form, light, and shadow -- a vibration that I sense in nature and the landscape, but without specific references.

 

 

Recent Installations

Here are a few installation photographs from two exhibitions I participated in this summer.

Magnetic Drift, oil on 48 4x4 inch panels, installation at Axle Contemporary, Santa Fe, NM.

Side view, Magnetic Drift.

Installation view of my work in the exhibition, Lines and Grids, at Space Gallery, Denver, CO

Installation view, Lines and Grids.

Magnetic Drift

These are 4 panels from a 48-piece installation, entitled "Magnetic Drift." Each oil on panel artwork measures 4x4 inches. The 48 pieces will be arranged in a grid.  I will be showing them with the Lady Minimalists Tea Society at Axle Contemporary in Santa Fe. Axle is a roving art gallery in a renovated step van. This unique venue travels around Santa Fe, Albuquerque, and surrounding communities.  In this installation, we have attached steel panels to the inside of the van, and all of our small artworks will have magnets attached to the back.  Each artist will install her panels as she desires, and then the public is invited to rearrange the panels in new combinations.  The viewers/participants are encouraged to freely express their creative ideas in mixing up the panels, incorporating new and original compositions into this site-specific installation.  This should be a very fun show, and I hope you'll be able to attend the opening reception on Friday, September 6th, from 5 - 7pm at the Railyard.