Gestural Painting, the marks of Zen.
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| Child at Play ink on paper 1995. |
My first experience attempting to produce drawings
spontaneously, that is without any preconceived thought occurred during a life
drawing session at Desiderius Orban Art School at Circular Quay, Sydney. Orban
a Hungarian artist had deserted Europe during the 1930s’ to escape the Nazi Government
backlash towards modern art. Australia at the time was fortunate in acquiring
several European artists familiar with the latest artistic development. Orban insisted
on immediate and spontaneous response to subject matter without preconceived ideas
about the result. He would run up and down the studio shouting faster, faster
as students attempted to produce fifteen, thirty, or sixty second drawings. Draw
from the shoulder not the wrist he would say, only then will you produce spontaneous
drawing. This approach to creativity eventual lead to Pollock’s action painting
in America, and the gestural work of Motherwell and others.
During the immediate post-war period Jean-Paul Sartre and
Simone de Beauvoir existentialist philosophy became popular in intellectual
circles. Artists influenced by the interchange between subjective perception and
objective reality in the world, lead many artists to engage in exploration of
abstraction. As far as I was concerned the idea of a total mediative state as a
starting point for creative expression seemed like a great idea, Zen offered an
encouraging entry point. This eventually lead to many gestural drawings and
paintings were marks made on a surface by unconscious physical action becoming
closed statements, where a viewer often could not interpret the resulting image
in any meaningful way, this still remains a barrier for many people viewing
abstract work.
My drawing during this period took on the appearance of
Oriental calligraphy without any meaningful reference to any existing text or
writing, they were calligraphy marks on coloured ground as simple as that. A
Japanese artist Roy Kiyooka dismissed the idea as meaningless, which was fair
enough being a highly structured painter and Japanese, but it seemed reasonable
to me that the subconscious was able to connect with the objective world even
if gestural association was not intended.
On later reflection I realised that some point of entry was
required for a viewer beyond the decorative, this would enhance their experience
and hopefully enjoyment. Thinking back this no doubt was what Orban was trying
to instil in us as students while retaining the spontaneous approach. In re-engaging
with this idea after rediscovering these early painting I have decided to reintroduce
a gestural approach in my work. Such an approach is the closest a human being can
give physical visual presence to their subconscious. Dancers often move to
sounds without formal interpretation of the music, their movements a spontaneous
reflex response, so there seems no
reason two dimensional work should not also.
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| Hanging figure ink on paper.1959. |
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| Tsunami. |
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| Wreck of the Laura. 1996. |
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| Musical instrument. 1959 |
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