Reference noun / ˈref.ər.əns/

• A mention of something. ‘He spoke at length without once making reference to art.’

 

Frame of reference phrase / ˈref.ər.əns/

• A set of ideas or facts accepted by a person that explains their behaviour, opinions, or decisions. ‘We come from completely different backgrounds and yet, somehow we have the same frame of reference.’

 

I do not know all the reasons we keep “reincarnating” here on Earth or why we choose this spiritual journey, but, besides forgiveness, which is our main function while living in this world of forms, I strongly believe that among them is the desire to fully appreciate the mechanism of creation itself and the eagerness to experience emotions in all their variety.

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Art, in all its forms, be it visual art or literature, performing arts or plastic arts, or any other art variant, is one of the best vehicles that can lead us to experience first-hand emotions while being the very creators of the emotions we want to experience.

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Since, by definition, an artwork arouses emotions, it does not necessarily have to have an association with the notion of beauty. Some artworks may be related to the notion of beauty, while others may not. Nevertheless, both foster feelings and emotions; there is no art form that does not lead to conscious or unconscious emotions.

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I have used the term “notion of beauty” because beauty is something relative, it is not something universally valid or all-encompassing. Based on the Cambridge English Dictionary, beauty is “the quality of being pleasing, especially to look at, or someone or something that gives great pleasure, especially when you look at it”. Another common definition says that beauty is “a combination of qualities, such as shape, colour, or form, that pleases the aesthetic senses, especially the sight.”

 

However, what pleases the aesthetic senses of the contemporary human being will please the aesthetic senses of the human living in the year 3000? Or would it have pleased the aesthetic senses of the prehistoric man?

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These are time-related questions, but even nowadays, what is beautiful for one person may not be beautiful, or may even be ugly, for another person. Furthermore, one may consider something as being ugly, awkward, or unpleasant one day, while the same thing can be beautiful or at least visually pleasing the very next day, according to the energetic vibration in which one finds oneself.

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I believe in energy; I believe everything is vibration; we, in our human state of being, our thoughts and our creations as a direct result of our ideas, whether it is a table or a chair, a painting or a photograph.

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Artists are constantly seeking ways to communicate their inner nature, their thoughts, and their beliefs through everything they are doing. Any artist does the same thing when he translates what he is, or a portion of it, into an artwork. Art has nothing to do with time but with the physical and spiritual focus of those who produce it.

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When an artist is creating an artwork, he is, out of his own feelings, out of his thoughts (not necessarily logical or coherent), out of the momentary vibration in which he finds himself, creating a vibrational “artwork”. Hence, the newly created work of art embodies the artist's energy vibration at the time of making it. Once the artist has given “physical” form to the work, it is open to the observation and reflection of everybody, including the artist himself.

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Without going into the nature and origin of inspiration, whether it is thoroughly thought out for a long period of time, whether it is part of the dream condition, whether it is left to chance or channelled, whether it is serious or playful, dramatic or joyful, under no circumstances can an artist, through his work of art, guarantee the opinion of the viewer regardless of the final physical shape, colours, or content of that particular artwork. It is fair to say, however, that those who are in the same energetic vibration with the energy invested and encompassed into the artwork will be sympathetically vibrating with the work of art.

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No matter what an artist wants to say, no matter what he or she wants to transmit, eventually it is the viewer, the observer, who fundamentally assigns the meaning of each object or work of art, and by doing that, the viewer determines the effect of that assignment as positive or negative, like or dislike.

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It matters not if the viewer fully “mentally” understands the artist's enveloped ideas and concepts. However, one’s conscious willingness to observe an artwork is translated into an unconscious willingness to observe if he or she harmonically resonates with the vibration of that particular artwork. Furthermore, when the observer allows himself to vibrate sympathetically with the vibration of the artwork, when this synchronicity happens, he gets a good feeling, a positive effect, and implicitly, he appreciates the work of art.

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In this respect, there cannot be such a thing as 'deadpan' art, no work of art can be devoid of emotions. Not only the creator cannot control the viewer’s experience in front of the artwork, but even the mere act of creation cannot be devoid of emotions. No artist can be completely emotionally detached from the subject of his artwork or his artwork per se.

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Likewise, there is no form of art that can be viewed as hermetic, impenetrable or self-reflexive except to the mind that divined it, even if we are talking about proto-conceptual, conceptual, post-conceptual art or any other form. Everything that we “see” or better say that we experience is contained within our consciousness, within the already existing infinity of our consciousness. From our infinite point of view there is nothing hermetic or impenetrable for these are linear terms, from our Earthly linear point of view. Eventually everything comes down to the conscious willingness to observe an artwork, to the conscious willingness to connect with the artist’s energy through our infinite consciousness. Without the conscious willingness to observe a work of art, if the momentary energy of the observer does not resonate or does not match the energy of the work, he simply cannot see the artwork.

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In a larger sense each and every individual human being is an artist, is a creator. Out of our thoughts, our ideas, our belief systems, we paint daily our lives, we picture our future, we act in interacting with others, we form the living sculpture of our body, and this is far more important to us than any other work. It can be conceptual or not, it can be random or not, but at the end of the day our life is our most Intimate work of art. And even this artwork is open to the observation and reflection of everybody, including the creator himself.

 

The above-mentioned ideas are in no way intended to be considered as the “absolute” truth. They are just part of my truth at the moment I wrote these lines or rather I have expressed my thoughts based on my experience, my present belief system, and my reality I chose to create at the moment of writing. I cannot guarantee that I will think the same way in a year or ten years from now. Each viewer or reader may have its own truth, which is neither truer (more accurate) nor erroneous, it is just his truth at the moment of reading in accordance with the reality one is creating at that very moment.