from the castle

Portraits By me.

' The only thing I can't ask is the movement of the brush, its the only thing I have to accept I do..what I enjoy seeing is a mark that hasn't been fiddled with'

peaceful emptiness 

sporadic mark making

clustered mark making

rhythmic marks

water washes

John Cage 1912-1992 

famous american avant-guard composer and artist in the 20th Century.

John cage at the Hayward.

John cage is said to be one of the most influential avant-guard composers of the 20th Century. He was a famous composer,poet,philosopher,printmaker and music theorist. He was also part of the influence of Modern Dance we know and love today.

Although he was less well known for his paintings they seem to echo his love of for experimental/aleatoric music (chance music). His paintings were produced he says ' by chance operations using a computer'.  He says that chance meant that every implication resulting from chance was good. His paint brushes were made from bird feathers. 

He said that feather brushes ' gave me a kind of confidence because a feather isn't a normal brush'

In his series of paintings he used 26 different colours and 7 washes. 

The series of circle paintings (one of which is shown at the beginning of this blog) were produced by drawing around large pebbles. His project was exploring the Rock Gardens in kyoto, Japan. 

John was a writer, painter and composer until 1933, when he devoted his time to music. His painting comes under the movement of abstract- expressionism.

perceptions
dreams
self- alterations
magic squares
sense perceptions 

a little bit of magic

for me.

Birds Of Heaven- Part One- Words.

Ben Okri. Poet and Novelist. 


Book: Birds of Heaven


Words

'It sometimes seems to me that our days are poisoned with too many words. Words said and not meant. Words said and meant. Words divorced from feeling. Wounding words. Words used to conceal. Words that reduce. Dead Words'


'A bump on the head may pass away, but a cutting remark grows with the mind. But then it is possible that we know all too well the awesome power of words- which is why we use them with such deadly and accurate cruelty.'


'The Greatest art was probably born from a profound and terrible silence - a silence out of which the deepest enigmas of our lives cry.'


'At best our cry for meaning, for serenity, is answered by a greater silence, the silence that makes us seek higher reconciliation.' 


'I think we need more of the wordless in our lives. We need more stillness, more of a sense of wonder, a feeling for the mystery of life. We need more love, more silence, more deep listening, more deep giving.'