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myself-3
I try no matter how many times - - - -
My free will is in fact no more than the
behavior of a vast assembly
of nerve cells and their
associated molecules.
Is that true ?
Through a variety of media, such as painting, printmaking, mixed media, composing music and multimedia performances, I have recognized that my artistic activities for more than thirty years have been an abstract extension of my concepts of place.
Then, beginning anew, I continue to look at all of my concerns and questions about the boundaries between art and science, and feel that I am still discovering what the basis of creative power is, what sorts of psychological mechanisms motivate creativity, and whether art develops in the same linear fashion as science.
From these concerns and my speculations about them, I am enthusiastic about what I term editorial art. Any form of expression is based on physical and conceptual experiences; although artistic activities themselves are also experiences in and of themselves, depending on how well all of the past experiential data (learning) can be edited, artistic or any activities in future would be determined whether they would be proceeded in more developing than before.
Thus, a structural design in the editorial works is art for me, and is significant for a purpose and its artistic achievement in action. Man has three basic desires: reproducing his or her experiences, as already mentioned, recording (storing) them, and transmitting them to other people. These three goals also propel my life forward, and I feel that I have found an ideal and revolutionary media to achieve these goals. It is the Internet Communication System of the WorldWideWeb.
Nakano 1997
Where am I heading to?
After studying oil painting in Tokyo, I started learning printmaking at Atelier 17 in paris under S.W. Hayter in 1970 through 1973. Although I was influenced by Hayter's theory of color and space, I preferred to search the subconscious inner world of myself through extremely contrasted B&W images in traditional aquatint and etching techniques. In 1973, I moved to California and founded Kala Art Institute with my colleague (Archana Horsting) at Berkeley. Since then, I gradually reached a point where I was mainly interested in "space itself" rather than creating illusionary images.
At that time, I was so influenced by the natural scientists new theories of the reality in the nature that I became very conscious of the natural world and physical phenomena, and developed a kind of material imagination. During that period I created a large number of mixed media works on paper using the methods of photo etching and collage techniques in order to express my own view of that human has been in the process of evolution in the artificial material world separated from original nature.
After that in 1980, I produced two books of sequential images (275 pages) which reflected my concept of the natural world entitled "Evolution of Light." Right after I created the books, my imaginative world rapidly extended in to abstract concepts. Then, I started making painting again; these were created by the flowing continuity of a fine broken color lines on the blanc field or color field. I call these painting "Light Sculpture", in the sense that they construct a tangible space in which time is translated and create the various patterns interacted between light and matters(color lines) depending on the field of vision (distance, angle, motion).
The result of this abstract extension of my ideas was the development of an "abstract system" which I use to create line paintings which are also "scores" for my experimental "sound" works. In 1983, with an awareness of the vibratory nature of light and sound, I began to direct, with many collaborators, multimedia performance works as a more complete form of my art works, and continued to perform until 1987. I continued to create paintings in acrylic as musical scores, and compose music with a computer operated MIDI system. In 1987, I applied an Artists-In- Residence program at KTVU Channel 2, Oalkland and started to work with computer graphics with the technicians. After extensively studied computer graphics, and some video graph at Channel 2 until 1990, I founded "Electronic Media Center" at Kala Institute in 1992. During the period of 1987 through 1998, I extensively used computer to create not only arts (graphics, animation, music and video), but also create a kind of interactive studying tools of paleontology; evolution of animals, and with latest communication tool, I created web page (250 pages) titled "Secret Memory," in which is represented the metaphor of the brain interaction in the three worlds; world 1 - physical objects and states. World 2 - state of consciousness. World 3 - knowledge in objective sense.(The three worlds that comprise all existence and all experiences as defined by Popper
and Eccles).
I have studied neuro-biology and physiology of the brain by myself through not only the books but, also internet web during the same period. My web page, "Secret Memory" is an accomplishment in 10 year's computer experiences. Since 1998, I have spent much less time for using computer, mainly because of my health, and other reasons. Instead I spend more time to develop my painting in larger scale on canvas in acrylic. My new paintings created by the same manner that executed during 1980 through 1987, represent more realistic 3-D spacial phenomenon, and are more clearly defined the patterns interacted between light & matter(color broken lines), and interval between the parts(color broken lines). When lighting conditions or viewer's position are changed, the phenomenons are more emphasized in different way. This phenomenon is "real," not illusion in a term of "realism" in traditional interpretation.
In 1981, Charles Share viewed my paintings and wrote, "There are indeed "light sculpture" to the extent that the kinetic effect of high-contrast figure and ground seems to pulsate, particularly when you move your head while staring at the surfaces. And the illusions of grids, dots, and ghost drawings which develop seem to move off the surface plane, setting up a third dimension which extends toward the viewer and even through and behind the picture plane."
In 1988, Dennis Duerden, art critics in London, wrote "------ but now it is not the boundaries of the plane which are in question but its location. It tries to escape from its boundaries and its elements are somehow constructed by their own interior light, a light that they create for themselves, the plane dissolving in an impalpable mist. However, each separate element can be clearly discovered on closer examination. This is their unique manner of declaring their independence of the plane.
The partial articles shown above are the samples of how viewer perceived my painting. However, It is more difficult to describe scientifically why these phenomenons emerge on the 2-dimensional surface of a canvas, than describing how viewer perceived the phenomenons. What is color? Scientifically understanding color is a essential element to develop my painting. For about a decade, I had tried to find a right answer in physics: color concept - electro-magnetic radiation - electron and photon in particle theory, but I could not. Then I changed the direction to seek the answer in the field of neuro sciences, brain physiology rather than physics, because all physical phenomenon we see in the external world including colors, are perceived and processed inside our brain through retina at the back of our eye which is a part of the brain. On the result of searching the answer in this field, I have nearly concluded as most cognitive science tell us, that colors don't exist in the external world. Colors are not things or substances in the world. Though neuro scientist's research in our brain function is yet far perfect, they assure that incoming reflecting light on objects through lens of eye is processed on our retina constructed with the three different color cones which absorb electromagnetic light wave(radiation) of long, medium and short, and when our color cones absorb the light wave radiation, producing an electrical signal that is appropriately processed by the neural circuitry of our brain. The qualitative experience of this processing in our brain is what we call "color".
One color occupies one location in space(a vast assembly of nerve cells and their associated molecules) of the visual cortex inside our brain, so that we enable to see "some colors" as forward than "other colors", and to the extent, 3-Dimension, constructed by each different colors occupying each different locations in space. This is my intuitive interpretation of "color concept" on the result of the present scientific analysis.
Now, my endless speculation about truth in nature, leads me to a field of "Gestalt psychology'
Gestalt psychology defines"gestalt" as an organized whole in which each individual part affects every other, the whole being more than the sum of its parts"
I found that this definition of "gestalt" explains a phenomenon on my painting in some extent.(see my statement below, written in 1981, which is somehow similar to this)
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Abstract Systems and Preparation Process
In the abstruct system I use, any part of the whole is always in relationship with "MA",* the interval between the parts. This relationship is continuous and generates scattered, similar figures.
Fixing the vision on any one of part of the images causes the temporary stopping of one's stream of consciousness and establishes one particular pattern of looking at the whole image, that is, one consistent "angle" of vision.
"MA", existing between parts of the whole, defines a kind of symmetry in which each interval invites light and creates energy.
The process of filling "MA" with objects(colors), narrowing the gaps, creates an awareness of some form, (shape), or image, which will vary depending on the density or concentration of objects used.
I am excited by the challenge of continuing to act in a way that no one does, but anyone could, and which is only allowed to me through this process of abstruct systems. *Japanese word
Yuzo Nakano Jan/2000