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Monday 23 July 2012

the mystifying mark


Sometimes an artist makes a mark - undoubtedly
his own, but one to baffle him.
He wonders what it means,
ponders its likeness to the bird
he saw desert the V-formation and then veer away
to do its own thing in its own way in some
other sky. What drove the mark and what
does it intend? It made a break for freedom,
that much is crystal clear, but yet the where of it
contains no resonance of what was in its mind.
And saying which... there is the mark in question...
Do you not see it clearly in my painting?
Can you not see how it is troubling me?

Is it the burnt remains of  long ago experience
that does not fit the brand new image that I have of me?
It stares at me, defying me to do whatever it might be
it had in mind for me to do - remove it with
the palette knife, include it as a figure, bird or sign...
whatever it may be, I will not do, I will not do! It shall
not interrupt the smooth unrolling of my vision... except,
perhaps, it is the essence of that vision stealing up on me.
Do I make myself a fool in trying to divine
the meaning of the mark, this mark which came from me?
Ah yes, but from which part of me? And which part now
has set it free? These are the questions I must answer -
or I'll never look it squarely in the eyes again!

Perhaps it's mathematical... perhaps there is
a function to apply, perhaps the application
of that function will turn the whole caboodle
into flights of birds - or might it not transmogrify
into a fractal from my brush, a graph perhaps
to map the coefficient of man's inequality?
...............................................................................
I am linking this poem to The Poetry Pantry #107 at Poets United

32 comments:

Madeleine Begun Kane said...

Interesting, I sometimes feel the same way about my indecipherable scribblings. :)

Anonymous said...

Does apophenia touch even our own doings? The almost OCD is a tad humorous but hugely effective.

Daydreamertoo said...

I smiled at this. Sometimes I see some abstract art and think: 'What a load of old tosh' It's because they simply ca't paint and they call it abstract but then, what one person sees as tosh, another sees the agonies, or, the joy in each stroke, and in some way connects to the artist. Love the way you've captured the angst in all of this.

Mary said...

This is one depthful poem, Dave!! Enjoyed all the thoughts here.

Kerry O'Connor said...

I read this as a stream of consciousness of the questing mind, ever seeking after knowledge and answers to the difficult questions.

Eileen T O'Neill ..... said...

Dave,

Immediately a little 'spot' of Shakespeare came to my mind....Lady Macbeth and her very deep spot of trouble, which also left a mark:)

Loved this Dave from the depths of both a writing and an artist point of view. Of course there was also a hint of a philosophical form included.

Eileen :)

Brian Miller said...

nice...enjoyed getting into the mind of the artist in this dave...i like to watch them at work or even hear them talk about their work to see through those eyes as well....

Anonymous said...

Very interesting piece! Deep question, to which the answer could take on many forms...

Leovi said...

Very interestingly, the coefficient of inequality of man, take care to allocate politicians and their owners (the capital). Greetings.

Tabor said...

Wow this is deep. I was never very good at math. I am going to have to think about this for a while.

Elliot MacLeod-Michael said...

I think that creating good art is somewhat like solving a math problem...a very laborious and difficult one, most of the time. It's easy to see how the ancients saw relationships between different disciplines, because I see them myself.

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haricot said...

A bird, a number or a sign...? It is not a simple question for the artist at all. The question itself seems to represent his existence or his mind.

Carl said...

Sometimes when the artist is fully immersed in the work. He or she is merely an instrument of some other force. Much lke the brush is in the hands of the artist. When the artist then sees the work they wonder at where
It all came from and what it means. The mark is a splinter of he devine.

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Anonymous said...

I was married for years to an abstract painter - and I love abstract art - he was actually quite literal in some of his abstractions, in that the marks did have very definite resonances. It's such an interesting process. k.

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sunny said...

Hi Mr Dave,like the post,and also I want to know that do you write stories too,because recently i was reading a story book,there are many stories in it,and one author named as Dave King,I thought it was you and the story named as Fairy Dust Delimma.

Dave King said...

Madeleine
Know what you mean! Thanks.

Jack
Hadn't thought of it as apophenia, but I guess maybe...

Daydreamertoo
Some abstract art is a lot of old tosh. Thanks for the kind words.

Mary
Thanks so much.

Kerry
Interesting... I didn't actually conceive it so, but no reason at all why it shouldn't be read that way. Fascinating when others see things in your work that had not registerd with you before. Much appreciate your comment. Thank you for it.

Eileen
Now that has knocked spots off me! Lady Macbeth, no less. Would never have guessed that, but will not refuse the honour. And yes, the philosophical aspect was always there in the background, but I was anxious for it to stay there and not intrude too much. Very insightful comment. Much thanks for.

Brian
Yes, me too. You can learn a lot from watching and from listening, too. Thanks.

daydreamerdreams
Yes indeed. it could morph in all sorts of directions.

Leovi
Excellent point! It shall not be overlooked! Thanks for.

Tabor
Steady! Could be one of those deceptive pools that only look deep!

Eliot
Absolutely. Couldn't agree more. Interesting comment.

haricot
Yes, true enough. The choice once made changes things for ever.

Carl
I like it. Like it very much. These are the high times you describe, the times that make it all worth while.

manicddaily
The whole issue of resonance between what the artist sees as abstract and what others see in it is totally fascinating. Interesting contribution. Thank you for it.

Sunny
Hi sunny. I have written stories, though not many. The one to which you refer was not by me, I'm afraid.

Anonymous said...

Tekshols and JJ..........

What is " Londen" and ETA?
We find it interesting you cannot supply a remark to thirty people on your blog.

Answer to FTTECHASE.
If you can't , you're no " David King".

Signed,

BILIOTEKER DANMARKS

( Milne- Miller- Kansas Kings)

Anonymous said...

Did you know that right at this moment, Depp and
" Rick the Prick" are informing about Vermont?
It seems that " Las Vegas Sun" went " bizarre"!
And when it did, it took out Earl the Jonso , along with
" MISSAGOD 17" and " REME".
You know all that 999 999% / 999?
That's a lot of " Jaks" with Frederic Michalak.
Who can "attest" to this?
None other than " Vara Fransyskor &
Lords of Shadowissa".
Don't worry .
They're all " out of pain".
Especially " DADEMSE 2".
That's BUNDESLAND?

Anonymous said...

Texas.
It used to be all about " 27" and inbreds.
But not now.
It seems the GRADSTARS have got plenty of ammo themselves.
And now Nevada has a " 9-11".
And it also seems that it's about URGESTAR " 23".
What a movie it's going to be when students take down the royal monarchy.
With Washington in " Kansas Kings".
And it's not just about " Mastespanker 69" who is
" JONN KERR 1" - Ontario.
It's way , way, more than that.
It's pedophile mobsters in human trafficking with
United Nations.
And to think they called it " Call of Duty Black Ops"!
camo _619
Booyah 503
Honshuthebandit
rabbit 453
killer_karrot
bastian 187247
agripino7
Nitewolf 1
All with this " JONN KERR 1" who is " Bakerboy_ 69"!
Who's with " ROOTY 009".
And that's Yan.
Who's with Nye.

Anonymous said...

Oh oh.
They go it now.
SICKEYST.
You'll never guess who's got it and where it's at.
Nick.
Nickst.
He's your NICANEME?
Look on the map of southern France.
NIC.ST.
And then follow it to Texas.

Ygraine said...

I've been wondering for so long why it is that our paintings always seem to paint us, rather than the other way around.
Well, now I know!

Never having been mathematically minded is probably why it took you to finally explain it to me.
Thank you, Dave :)