Art or Asphalt?

I am not an Artist.  I do not sit in a salon, smoking a cigar, mixing colours and abusing canvases with thick layers of paint.  I do not wear a beret.  Occasionally, I do create.  Most often, I do not share what I create because I deem my 'works' unfinished or not good enough.  In the past, I showed my poetry to just about everybody.  Now, with increasing maturity, I realise that some of my poetry was dubiously masochistic.  Masochism is a good starting point in life but should never be seen as the end of the road.

Okay, what constitutes art to me?  This afternoon, I was at a film event at the Barbican called 'Absolute Dada'.  Essentially, it comprised a series of short films by the likes of Duchamp and Man Ray.  Some of the films consisted of little more than lines, squares and rectangles.  The Man Ray films were more interesting, precisely because occasionally, he explored the human form.  I am not an art snob.  I will embrace all art forms and styles.  I have learnt through experience that I am more interested in art forms that challenge me.  Simple representation does not interest me particularly.  Reality is an invention.  When I look out the window, my view is mediated by my mood, clarity of vision and posture.  Looking at the garden horizontally can be more rewarding than seeing things from a more conventional perspective.

I once said to someone I care about that I am interested in 'organised chaos'.  Well, really, I am fascinated with the pursuit of meaning.  I wish to provide some degree of structure to the things that surround me.  I don't require a concrete manifesto like art movements such as the Surrealists, although it's nice to have an anchor of some kind to hold me down, so that the processes I engage with lead somewhere meaningful.

I had a couple of ideas today and I am learning that whether they come to anything tangible or not, they are inspiring to me.  They provide something joyous in a maelstrom of uncertainty.  They will no doubt remain incomplete but for me the process will always be important.

Barry Watt - 24th March 2013