CONTEMPORARY FIGURATIVE PAINTINGS

words / random musings

Richard Baxter

Not Surrealism What is art? Can art be judged? Evil = Ego Belief is fiction Imagine death Influences Technical details

BUT WHAT DOES IT MEAN? The main, simple feel in all my recent work is that life is joyous and alive, here and now in the present, amidst the ordinary, amongst the flowers and the garbage. This joy is found right wherever you are, at any time, you don't have to search, you don't have to attend monasteries for years on end, you don't need large amounts of money, or knowledge. This is reflected in the painting of the Amoco man, a so called simple man who works at a garage, who has found bliss in the presence of the moment and begins to float, being separate from the world in once sense, yet part of it totally. Work in the last three years has been examining the sense of self and finding that it is not so real as once believed. Best summed up by the work 'The Awakening' the observation is that the self is a construct, an idea which we have in our mind, which does not have to be fixed nor expressed in thoughts and words. Yet as we accumulate more ideas over time, we come to believe these ideas are real, that this sense of who we are, is real. These paintings are typically about the breakdown of this once held reality, and the experience of discovering a different way of experiencing consciousness. In the last three years the work has also taken on a new feel, a definite change after 20 years of darker work. More than simply happy, the paintings are light and whimsical but also hold a sense of reverence and magic. They are exploring ideas about consciousness and reality: What is it? Where is it? What is real, and how do we define reality? Subjects have become lighter, more playful and an air of quirky Zen-like riddle has entered. There is a stillness, an expansiveness which hints toward eternity, and a calm. The idea of flight or wings appears many times in the work in one form or another. Objects often float without reason and the sky plays a very important role as it always has in my work, helping to give the feeling of spaciousness and expanse which reflects a state of mind. I first became aware of space when I was 17, awakening in the middle of the night to a sudden wind, which made a wind sculpture I had made the day before, clang noisily in the breeze. I opened my eyes and looked at the wall, which suddenly appeared more real than it ever had before, as if I had previously only seen life in two dimensions, and was now seeing in three. Going outside, I was amazed at the 'realness' of everything around me, especially the trees, which I walked around as if seeing for the first time like holograms. At first the ability to feel this new reality only happened at night for many years, but now is with me always. I now know that this sense is part of experiencing a greater awareness of being alive, a kind of stepping outside of yourself and being able to feel the space that life exists within. It was not a change of visual ability, but of mental perception. This is also the endless space of consciousness. Since then I have tried to incorporate this sense of space and clarity into my work, but not always consciously. Only in recent years has this become a conscious objective. Toys have entered the works, and take on lives of their own, often separate to the rest of the painting. The appearance of the toys plays with the nature of reality and how we define it. The toys are also a conscious sentimental reflection of the past, for the pure enjoyment of it. They are fun. I have no objection to simply enjoying a work of art, a picture, or an object for it's own sake. Not everything needs a meaning, not everything needs to be conceptual, and things certainly do not need to be painful to be of worth. It is beautiful to enjoy something simply because it is there; sunlight on a wall, the red colour of a toy car, a face. No need for complex theories, statements and reasons. The human mind has enough complexities deep within it, we don't always need to entertain more to make something of worth. These paintings will reveal many levels of explanations and theories if sought, but it is not necessary to understand all this to enjoy them. One may enjoy them on surface value alone, and that is great by me. NOT SURREALISM: This work is not Surrealist. Surrealism was a movement in keeping with the psychological discoveries of the early 20th century. It focused on revealing the subconscious and the unknown forces within the human mind through a process of uncensored automatic imaging or writing. My paintings are not uncensored, to the contrary they are carefully thought over and arranged quite consciously for deliberate effect, then executed painstakingly. For this reason I think they often have the feeling of the stage. They are a conscious presentation of a series of props and actors, set in idyllic landscapes. Almost diametrically opposed to surrealism, I ask the viewer to step outside of the mind and its ideas, constructs and unconscious images, and view the world anew, not from the eyes of the mind, but with no mind. I prefer to describe my recent work as a form of playful 'realism' seeking to point to a freedom or open reality beyond the mind (if anything can be defined as real) but it's a realism which ironically leaves open the way it defines itself. It has no definitions. There may seem a similarity to surrealism in style at first, due to both intentions often including a mix of incongruous objects, but with my work I include 'surprising' elements as objects of complete normalcy, rather than as mystery objects with deeper meanings. I'm aiming for a feeling of lucidity and clarity, with complete freedom, lightness, joy and non-attachment. For example, if in real life we see an old car with a goat standing on it, we may think it is quirky or out of the ordinary, but we accept the reality of it. We don't search this image for a deeper meaning, and ask "but what does it mean?" It simply is. The world is so astonishing in its complexity and depth, that at every moment it already holds more mystery than we will ever fathom, including goats and cars. Of course there will be a valid 'reason' somewhere, for the goat standing on the car. And we can explore those reasons if we feel the need to, but there is no need to in these paintings, it is totally optional. We can simply enjoy a parade of colour and intrigue, and the beauty of the present moment as it is, without questioning. So these paintings do not have literal stories or explanations, rather they are more like poems, music or abstract ideas which one may feel without understanding. I prefer to present a question or simply a situation, (which is my own question or situation also) which the viewer is then free to explore in their own way and time. Like a Zen Koan, this process can lead the mind freely to other levels without restrictions. This is a beautiful place to be in, to be contemplating a world of endless possibility and intrigue, yet not understanding anything and making no definitive judgements on anything. To float like a cloud, moving freely around the earth, observing, breaking apart, reforming, having no need to be anything or be anywhere. Just to observe enjoy breathe and be. Action, thought and ideas are still possible in this world if necessary, but in these paintings, we begin to sense that the thoughts and the objects, and ultimately the mind, are not as solid as we once believed... WHAT IS ART?: Today art can be defined simply as communication, nothing more or less. In its simplest terms, any kind of communication may be used for different purposes. It may be direct and informative, coded, humorous, needlessly elaborate, existent for its own sake, entertaining, dull, truthful, a lie etc. In most kinds of communication, the form can take on endless variations and nuances. In the past, people have tended to refer to only a narrow range of communication as art, but even the way one ties one's shoelaces can be regarded as art, as it is a process that may involve choice, fashion statement, and different degrees of elaboration etc. It can be considered a subtle form of communication. Yet when most of us think of art, we only think of painting, or perhaps dance and music. Then within these already narrow definitions, we add more definitions of quality. If we attempt to narrow the definitions of art, then immediately we must establish an almost endless series of ideas and limits, so we can know what is and what isn't art. Then we begin to make judgements... CAN ART BE JUDGED?: Measuring ideas is a way of trying to secure permanency in a world which is ever changing. In a way, by judging and comparing, we are really trying to avoid death. Either the death of ideas, the death of permanency or the death of ourselves, we try and avoid these deaths by measuring and judging in a desperate attempt to set up ideals. We seek something unchanging, something undying, a set of standards which does not change. If we can say 'This thing is ultimately good or bad because...' then we have established some illusion of permanency and an ultimate definition. To be able to judge something, one must compare it to something else. There must be a standard to measure against. Otherwise something stands totally alone, unable to be compared. To judge something there must be rigidity, solidity and something that doesn't change. Judging something requires taking an object or an idea which is immediate and real, then assessing it against a concept which is an idea in the mind, acquired from other ideas in the past, or an idea about the future. When we judge art, we take a reflection of the world, and assess its worth against a standard set up in our mind of what that reflection should be, for whatever number of endless reasons. Since our thinking minds are limited and not omnipresent, we are unable to measure anything against all possible measures and ideas, (as this would logically be an endless endeavor) so everything we judge is limited in it's list of comparisons and is therefore arbitrary. When you begin to think about it, to measure and compare art is a circular waste of time, and to what end? In the end, all you have established is a concept of difference within your mind, which is itself limited. All things are different and changing anyway, so there was no need to measure to find this out in the first place. To judge something sets up immediate division. Suddenly there is good and bad, wrong and right etc. But relative to what? Relative to an arbitrary and limited set of parameters within the mind. This way of assessing and defining the world, works on whatever level you want it to, and for whatever subject you want it to. For example, you decide that a world with trees, is better than a world without. You make a judgement based on limited ideas, measure the outcomes and decide which outcome is most desirable for various reasons. This works on many levels, and is obviously necessary at certain levels. But it is important to remember its limitations. It can only work within a limitation of ideas set up within the mind, which is limited in its knowledge. As soon as there is required freedom or no limits, then judging becomes futile. When it comes to something we would theoretically like to be outside of limitations, like art, this way of assessing the world does not work. It's a particular irony that in the present art world where much is made of the fact that anything can be art, we still feel we can judge what is art and what is not, what is worth something, what is not. We hold big art competitions and award large prizes to one person, who is deemed to be 'the best'. All we have really done, is taken one single view of the world, and decided we like that view the best, and disregard all the other views which were equally valid and judged them as worth less. So like caging a bird, we take something that is free and boundless, and try to put it into a box. The only real 'judgement' that can be made, is a personal one, and this is just an awareness of personal interest, not of ultimate worth. If we judge something's worth, we fool ourselves into thinking we are omnipresent and know everything, are aware of all opinions at all times. So there can be no judgement of art, only observation, awareness and awareness of difference. Even this awareness of difference should be passive and non-judgmental. Just an acceptance. One can be interested in certain things at certain times for different reasons, but this is all limited and changing constantly. We only have to think of our own changing interests, needs and views, and how they have changed as we have grown from being 3 years old, to 10, to 25, to 75... Then we can realise that no single view or need can be classed as 'right', or 'better'. It's simply that views and interests are different, depending on where you are at any given time. The art that satisfied us when we were 3 years old, may no longer interest us. It would be foolish to imagine that simply because we have reached an advanced level of human years, that we are finally right. If we continued to live for three hundred, five hundred, ten thousand years, our ideas would continue to change and grow. Also our moods change from day to day, even from minute to minute. What interested us yesterday, may not be what we are in the mood for today. So to judge something, requires a standard which does not change, and yet nothing ever remains unchanged. Some people would argue that competition stimulates achievement and growth, but this is only the case when judged within very limited parameters, like how fast one can run etc. These types of judgements are very narrow. With art, which seeks to reflect the myriad of human thoughts and our relation to the universe, to make a judgement upon the quality of the reflection is pointless. There is only the reflection which must stand alone. Competition also sets up a position of success and failure which the ego clings to, to establish it's worth in relation to other beings. Once the idea of competition is accepted, you become either a winner or a loser, and an immediate division is set up which includes pain and pleasure. The winner feels superior and in order to retain the pleasure felt, strives to maintain their positio