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Art and the Soul

Many people enjoy artworks, but not so many understand, why. It is not necessary for them. But it is important for artist. Because I have some experience in this area, I would like to explain my opinion, what goal is for graphic art, and how it works.

Main goal for art is to born some kind of feelings in your soul. An important addition to it is these new-born feelings should be not worse, that you had before. All people want to improve their mood, and you can see, they spent a lot of money, to get it. (I have not seen anybody who was ready to pay money to make mood worse. We use our jobs for this purpose).

I see there are two kinds of art. The first (mostly books, songs e.t.c), interacts with your mind, using thought. Then, after processing in mind, they born feelings in your soul. But there are another kinds of Art, these born response in your soul directly, without intermediary. It is a painting, a photography, a music e.t.c. But to have the expected response in audience, you have to put your feelings in it, when you make it. In general, what you are putting into it, an audience will extract the same. It is a rule and a sign of true art. And I will continue to speak only about this kind of Art.

There are many consequences follows by it.

I believe most of family pictures of friends or children are not subjects of Art, but some of them are. Like a books: there is the book of good lyric, and other book about programming. Which of them is subject of Art? A writers were using same instruments to make it: paper & pens. The same for photo pictures. Or painting: there is an advertisement on a roof of family restaurant, painted in oil, and there is the Mona Lisa portrait. Big difference! Art is not a just result of artist's accessories application, it is the result of his feelings application, using these accessories.

Also, let think about a photo picture, what has an image of beautiful cathedral. Most the times the cathedral itself is subject of art, but the picture - not. I have not seen any good artworks about Art. Also, there are some beautiful creatures of the Nature: flowers, butterflies, sunsets and sunrises, those make our good mood. I can not treat these things as Art, because it is not a result of man's activity. You can paint beautiful sunset, and it still will be just like good photo, until you put some of your feelings into it.

In fact, a question is much wider and deeper. Let me explain what I mean. Enjoying art is the same as love or relations between people. What the soul is? By my opinion, we can treat soul as some kind of receiver/transmitter of some waves. Maybe (who knows?) these waves are similar to electromagnetic waves, but with still unknown frequency. Your soul just transmits these waves as transmitter, and somebody's "receiver" receives them. If both of them, yours and another's are "tuned" to same frequency, you will have a mutual understanding. Different people have different wave frequencies and different people have different "range" of wave frequencies. It seems to me, we are not able to manage this to make this wider. We can only pretend. The actors are great pretenders. But we are able to change the "frequency". When you are painting, you "radiate" your soul rays. Your painting accepts them (but, please, do not think so literally), and radiates them all the time, since you put them into it once. Artworks are accumulators of your soul rays.

Moreover, by the way, let me recall following formula of energy:

E = m * c2

To me, the formula describes not only relation between energy, weight and velocity of light. In fact, the formula is one of genius finds of our century. As it seems to me, the formula describes relation between matter and energy. The matter is base for materialism, and energy is base for idealism, through prism of my conception. (I hope, you know, that light wave has such characteristic as "dualism". It means that wave reflects characteristics of energy as well as characteristics of matter in the same time.)

Therefore, it is fundamental formula, which probably describes the relation between idealism and materialism. Looks like they are different sides of the same. Please, note, that the coefficient is velocity of light, not of sound or something else. No light - no energy or substance! Prove it? Imagine cold space of the Universe. It is enough to prove, I think. So, we will memorize this. The materialism and idealism both work in same direction, in different ways. It is time to stop a war between them.

But let me to return "back to our rams", as we say in Russia. Back to our topic. Your soul radiates whole "spectrum" of rays and receives it, too. The spectrum is always changed. It depends on your mood state. Some times, it is more "infrared", some times -"ultraviolet". It is why today we like these pictures, tomorrow - the others.

There are three "ingredients" of graphic art: the light, the color and the shape. What they bring to us? Let speak about each of them.

The shape brings a substance and thought. Let recall Kazimir Malevicz's s famous painting of "Black square". It is apotheosis of materialistic art in USSR. Just matter (or substance), no any soul. By the way, Malevicz painted this picture just for fun. He just wanted to show to public how vicious is the way, what Russian art goes; but instead, this "painting" had great unexpected success. Then, he went back to his class, where he was a master, and told to students: "- Everybody, go home! Art just has die". With a tears on his eyes, by the way!!

There are some professional secrets of curves. Not all of curves are pleasant for eyes. It was discovered many centuries ago. Natural curves are preferable. I know two of such natural curves: a line of flexed horizontal rope, both ends of that are attached to trees, and the curve of a dry sand pile. Circles also work. Nature almost has not any straight lines. And, of course, a golden section. The horizon line must be painted using the golden section, if possible, from a top or bottom of the picture. The same for landscape photos.

The light reflects soul influence. It also reflects "quantity" of soul and spirit. In fact, it reminds to us a source of our life: the Sun. We depend on the sun, much more than we expect. The sun is source of our energy, including the soul energy. Imagine following picture: the sunrise and fog on grass. Here are no any shapes, any colors. It is song of the soul! Note that we can't paint the light. We use shadows for this purpose.

There is one more thing. Result of some experiment shows that grown-ups want to see dark a bottom half of picture and light a upper half. The children want to see it vice versa. I don't know why they wish to see it in such way. I can paint only approaching thunderstorm in such way. The light works for general audience, because as we have memorized, it is transition coefficient between the material and the spiritual.

The colors bring soul/subject qualification.

To prove this, let imagine two photos. The first is black and white photo. The second is colorful photo. What is a difference between them? The first has only shape and light; second one has also colors. Looking on first photo, we can accept idea and state of soul (a mood). However, we aren't able to understand what are nuances of the mood, in other words, we can not qualify artist's mood. Moreover, we can not understand what are the subject¡¯s characteristics. The tree leafs: are they yellow or green? What it is: a summer time or autumn time? Such b/w pictures are good to bring to us a picture and the mood of rainy day. Old b/w graphic art passed away in same day when photography was born.

What and why we expect from colors? When we just were born, the first we had seen, we saw light. Then, several days old, we noticed colors around us. We realized, our mamma is where colors are. Instinctually, we like "warm" colors. We do not like "cold" ones. Because "warm" colors recalls to us our mamma, and these sunny summer days, when we were children. I can't recall any winter time memories of my childhood. Moreover, a colors are not so important, as "a color temperature"! I have seen a portrait of one man, painted in yellow-green color. Nobody noticed that his face was yellow-green! Because it was "warm" color, that all of us gets used see on face. Nevertheless, if you will paint a face in blue color, it will be at least surrealistic work. The blue is cold. In fact, we can't paint using only warm colors, we must put also cold colors to highlight them.

After these explanations, now we can explain a difference between American art and Russian art. They are different. American art mostly reflects idealistic, spiritual approach, using mostly light and, some times, colors. The shapes are not too sharp. The pictures almost look like through diffusion filter.

Contemporary Russian art is the result of art heritage of painters like Kazimir Malevicz. It is sharp and colorful. Historically, we used to be materialists. Now things are changed. Nevertheless, Russians still work in realistic way. As I said, It is time to stop this war.

Main goal of artist is to eliminate thoughts when audience perceives art. Because we can not use only light and colors. We paint some subjects too. The subjects have a form. We have to keep here some balance between light, shape and color. It is difficult job, is not it! In fact, people, like cats, understand a tone (equal to feelings), but not words. We must remember about this.

We are consisting of mosaic of our previous experience. We accept only what we do like, what reflects our feelings, but not knowledge. Therefore we some times want to believe in some non-existing things, whose we do like. People are illogical. People can be divided in two groups: creators and spectators. First ones do radiate, a spectators do accept it. Both groups can not to be each without other. I do not believe, when people say, that they paint pictures for themselves. The creator needs spectators; the spectator needs to have something to enjoy. Let left the artist on some island alone, with paints and brushes - he won't paint!

We have understood that for painting we need to have more than just brushes, paints and a palette, but also a wish of soul to give. We call the wish an inspiration. It is sign for us, we are ready to give (and we can't resist to it). It shows to us our soul is tuned on particular frequency. But how to get an inspiration? Many musicians use drugs for this purpose. Maybe it helps to make up some music, but listeners always feel "smell" of narcotics in such music.

By my experience, a love is alternative drug for artist. It helps. Money? -No. Thirst of success? It works. To me, music is helping. It precisely tunes your soul on particular frequency. Artwork gives a birth to another artwork. There is one more philosophic moment. Our life is not endless. What will remain after we will die? The children. That is all. We also know that our artworks will have life, much longer, that our own life. Nobody can throw them away, because every artwork is unique. To me, all my paintings are my children, from different mothers. I am joking. But many a true word is spoken in jest.

I have read many books about Art. I have not found any acceptable definition of Art. I do like this one: Art is what we remember for long time, until it positively changes us and will become a part of us. Not everything on wall of art gallery is artwork. Some of them are just "moneyworks". Moreover, there is some works of "evil's" art. All is not gold that glitters. About this? Not this time.


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