THE ALCHEMY OF ART, Annette Fry
Sitting in the corner of an ill-kempt postage stamp garden in East London, I am catching a rare day of sunlight. It is beautiful although it may not fulfill the definition of art. ‘I begin with an idea and then it becomes something else,’ said Picasso. What is art and its alchemy?
An artist for many years, I should be able to tell you but I want to avoid jargon (one London borough is banning jargon, so ‘stakeholder investment will once again become ‘community involvement’ Whoopee!). Many languages define art: the critic’s language, the language of aesthetics, both indecipherable to the uninitiated but difficult to avoid.
Webster’s unabridged dictionary (1989) says that art is: ‘the quality, production, or expression, according to aesthetic principles, of what is beautiful, appealing or of more than ordinary significance etc, etc,’ Wikipedia (current) says art refers to: ‘a diverse range of human activities/expressions appealing to the senses or emotions of a human individual… traditionally art referred to any skill or mastery... This changed during the Romantic period when art came to be seen as a ‘special faculty of the human mind to be classified with religion and science… A cup …may be considered art if intended solely as an ornament, while a painting may be deemed craft if mass produced.’
This extended the search to craft: ‘from the old English ‘craeft’ meaning strength which came to mean the above average strength one had in a particular manual activity. So someone who had craft also had skill, meaning distinction or difference. This, an activity which requires not only manipulative ability, precision and dexterity but is also creative flair and imagination.’
In the Middle Ages there was a greater synthesis between man, nature and God which slowly disintegrated. By the 16th century with the rebirth of humanism (the Renaissance, or as it was called then in Italy, ‘Rinascira’), a relationship was established between art and creation based on the model of Christian thinking about art during the middle ages This view replaced the ancient relationship between art and nature. Vasari (writing in 1550) saw creation as ‘an entirely contingent auto referential act of God’ interpreting ‘the human artists’ creation according to this model’. It is as if humanity is becoming its own God. This debate flourished in the studios where young artists were apprenticed to learn their ‘craft’. Those who didn’t want to be labled ‘artisan’ or craftsman, became the forerunners in the creation of formalised teaching academies and universities whose goal was to increase the status of painter and sculptor, which ultimately led to claims by some artists of mysterious talents, genius and charisma. This itself raises the profiles of the academies bringing financial reward and recognition. Other causes were wealthy patrons, for the greater the status of an artist, the greater the value of the work to its owner. It was the mirror he held to his own status. While the value of craft fell, the status of art and 'the artist' began to climb.
Art definitions and theory proliferate with increasing complexity which leads to divisions between the art of human effort and the art of nature; art as opposed to craft; art as activity or as thought; as intention or statement; intellect and emotion; body and mind.
Divisions and separations have their effect. In attempting to define art we have stumbled from Aristotle to the present day, we categorise and classify something that is possibly beyond the rules of engagement and is more of an attempt to describe the ambivalence we feel in relation to our existence. Humanity is divided into body mind and spirit and increasingly separated from the cosmos, nature and any spiritual force. ‘Aesthetics for artists is what ornithology is for birds’ (Barnet Newman).
Annette Fry is an artist trained at Goldsmiths and Central St. Martins, previously a lawyer.
She makes sculpture, installation and video and participative pieces, working with space and those who inhabit it.
BODY BALANCE, Susan Paul
Most of us are familiar with acupuncture and meridian lines, but very few of us are aware of an even older system of energy mapping. This system originated in India, thousands of years ago, and was recorded in the ancient Vedic texts. Theses texts wrote about the origins of the universe and the chakra system.
Chakras are wheels of energy, and are the main energy points within the body. There are seven major chakras that are in a column of energy that spans from the base of the spine to the top of the head. There are also minor chakras in the hands, feet, fingertips and shoulders. But it is the seven major chakras that correlate with basic states of consciousness. Body Balance is firmly rooted in Ayuvedic medicine and has been adapted by Polarity therapy, it works by unblocking energy that runs in channels (called nadis) in the body, these start in the five lower chakras. Universal energy enters the body through the top of the head and divides into the five lower chakras at the brow chakra, the next one down.
Each chakra has an archetypal element, earth for the base chakra (colour red), water for the sacral chakra (colour orange), fire for the solar plexus chakra (colour yellow), air for the heart chakra (colour green) and ether or sound for the throat chakra (colour light blue or turquoise). Each chakra has long lines called nadis, which run up and down the body. So for example the throat chakra long line, starts at the throat and runs down the front right side of the body to the thumb and big toe, and up the back of the right side. (It is the opposite on the left hand side)
Body Balance uses gentle massage on certain points on these long lines, usually starting with the feet or hands and moving up to the head. These points are often experienced as being sensitive or tender. Applying pressure and gently holding key points on the body helps the energy flow better as it helps unblock energy that gets stuck. During a body balance session, you would lie on a coach fully clothed with your shoes off. I would ask you to close your eyes and breath into and out of your nose, deeply and gently. I would then start the body balance treatment.
Most people experience a sense of well being after body balance, it can be relaxing and energising at the same time. It can help with a range of emotional and physical problems. Some people say it helps them feel more centred and grounded.
Susan Paul is a Body Balance practitioner and Homeopath. She practices in Ipswich and Woodbridge.