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July 10, 2005

The known and the unknown

You learn things as you go along. Which is great for avoiding buses on busy roads, and generally not sticking your hand in the fire. But it also stops growth. It shuts down feelings by limiting experience.

The artist has to find a way to bypass the learning process so they can see things new every time. They have to push experience so they can become aware of realities that we have been blinded to by the learning process.

One and one equals two, they said, and that was that. No need to go there again, no need to question anything. [Until you start doing unimaginable mathematics at Cambridge using arrows and strange cabalistic symbols, Adrian.]

“I went to Las Vegas, got into a long argument with the man at the roulette wheel over what I considered an odd number” Steve Wright, comedian.

Humour can help spill a bit of light into the darkened corners, but the artist must rip the walls down and expose this damn darkness to their full blazing stare. And that’s not easy, because 3.5 million years of evolution have created one damn clever mammal.

The artist must leave the known and get in amongst the unknown. And, like an unknown tributary of an Amazonian river, it can be dangerous going down there.

Posted by john at July 10, 2005 12:56 PM

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