Trikaya
Last time I wrote a guest post here, it was very useful to receive everyone’s feedback and discussion. So firstly a big THANK YOU.
This time I’d like to dig a bit deeper, after all this is “Art & Perception”. So with that in mind, there are three paintings contained within this post; Above the Enchantment, Trikaya and Gaze of Hope, each of which will appear in an exhibition in April (all are 81cm x 102cm). The exhibition, titled “Insight”, is to encourage the viewer to look more deeply at what is seen and to contemplate, beyond taking things at face value. I’m therefore interested to understand what everyone perceives in these 3 paintings – you may recall that I use music during the painting process.
Gaze of Hope
Above the Enchantment
When you consider the title of each painting, the art itself, the colours, the dark and light aspects etc. within each piece, what is your perception of each work? What does each work tell you about the artist? What do you see? What do you hear? Do you have any particular emotion or feeling arise from each painting? What questions arise?
Mark,
Congratulations on your show! Tell us more about the “Insight” exhibition. Is it solo? If not, how many artists are showing, and what kind of work will it be?
Here are just some remarks after a very quick look. I have to say that knowing you work with music doesn’t tell me much relating to the images. Given the prompt, I can imagine possible music to go with the paintings, but it probably has nothing to do with what you’re actually listening to. Realize that I don’t actually listen to music that much, and currently I’m mostly interested in African folk/pop, which doesn’t seem to fit too well.
I like your paintings very much. In terms of gesture, they seem to be built on medium-length strokes. In the first (Trikaya) I can see three regions that look distinct. This fits with the meaning of trikaya from Wikipedia:
“Briefly the doctrine says that a Buddha has three kayas or bodies: the nirmanakaya or created body which manifests in time and space; the sambhogakaya or body of mutual enjoyment which is an archetypal manifestation; and the Dharmakaya or reality body which embodies the very principle of enlightenment and knows no limits or boundaries.”
Clearly this relates to your interest in Buddhism, but I don’t know enough about it to recognize anything specific. This painting has a very powerful forward/back effect with the red/blue. In conformity with color theory, normally the blue is behind, but sometimes occludes the red.
I like the second painting best, with the window that looks like a small, dark human figure that seems to have been thrown against it. That figure is also reminiscent of Christ on the cross. I definitely feel there is more going on, but I haven’t got it yet. But I’m interested enough to want to come back after some sleep!
The last painting makes me think of fish in the sea. I can’t really relate it to the title, but again that makes me want to look at it again in the morning. For me, suggestive titles are a spur to look until I can make sense of them. But I’ll feel dumb or cheated if I can’t make it work. Will be looking again tomorrow (my time)…
Thanks very much Steve. The “Insight” exhibition is a solo exhibition at the Eastgate Theatre & Arts Centre, in Peebles, Scotland (just South of Edinburgh). Peebles is the beautiful Scottish Borders and is a bit of an art magnet. Anyway, this exhibition provides an insight into my energetic work which is inspired by music, by life, by spirituality and by inner thought. The paintings encourage the viewer to look more deeply at what is seen and to contemplate, beyond taking things at face value.
In a way it doesn’t matter if the music you imagine is nothing to do with what I actually listened to – if you hear any music back from each painting then that is good; I am happy if the paintings give any sound back to the viewer as part of the wider experience to the senses. Tapping into the visual and audio can give a deeper insight.
Yes medium length strokes have been used and also shorter ones in the earlier stages, and with a blending of colours with brushes (you might get a visual image of me doing this to music! – no laughing). The movements during the painting are led by the music, to an extent involuntarily once I’m locked into the groove.
The use of colours is intentional for the effect of painting Trikaya, and I’m glad the effect is powerful for you. And the meaning you’ve sourced is a very useful starting point to look into the picture.
It’s also great to hear your initial thoughts on both Gaze of Hope, and Above the Enchantment. I’ll wait until you’ve had some sleep and take another look. And it’ll be interesting to hear everyone else’s thoughts too.
The first picture, Trikaya, only made sense to me after I clicked on the image and the enlarged version popped up. Now I see three buddhas, a middle one, slightly elevated and two others on her two sides, all three sitting down quietly. The title of the picture implies three. But, learning about ‘trikaya’ this morning from wikipedia, I would have thought that this first picture could be called ‘the nirmanakaya or created body which manifests in time and space’. The almost violent slashes of red and blue surrounding the three figures trap them in time and space.
The second picture conveys a sense of fragility to me, tinged with sadness. I feel as if something is holding me back, preventing me from looking through a window. I am confused about what color is holding me back and what color would lead me to enlightenment, the blue, white or yellow?
In the third picture, there is again movement. Here, the movement is as rapid as in the first picture, but it is not tearing me apart. Rather, I am enticed to fall into its rhythm. Here the objects, in yellow, are not sitting down rigidly as they do in the first picture. Rather, they are nodes of individual consciousness that vibrate within the universal consciousness.
I am going back to the second picture to see whether it is the yellow color that leads me through the window. No, the yellow in this second picture is stagnant, it cannot break through out into the open. I feel imprisonment. The white and blue lines are restraining my gaze. The dark blue in the center of the picture looks like an opening but it is not an inviting one. I only feel the prison, not the gaze of hope out of the prison.
In summary, the first picture is tearing me apart with its violent blue and red lines. The second picture makes me feel trapped. The third picture makes me feel happy and I would like to join into what is happening.
Mark and Steve,
Are you familiar with Lukas Ligeti’s music? It is awesome.
from wikipedia
LL is a composer and percussionist. His work incorporates elements of jazz, contemporary classical, and various world musics.
Ligeti travels frequently to Africa and has performed together with musicians from Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Zimbabwe, and several other African nations.
Ligeti is of Hungarian ancestry and was born in Vienna, Austria. He is the son of the noted composer György Ligeti (1923-2006). Lukas Ligeti has lived in New York City since 1998.
Mark,
I recorded Troels’ exclamations who does not know about the buddhist angle:
“The first picture is unusual, very unusual. There are two, no, three creatures. The blue in the red is amazing. A remarkable piece. The guys are sitting in the forest, a mental camp fire.
The second picture is a window. It is holiday season, Christmas or something. I see a reflection of light in the window (upper left) which could be the reflection of light on a cloud from the moon, a reflection onto the window.
The third picture: There is an unreal filter of sorts, it lacks clarity, a mushy grey cover over something that would be expected to be lighter.
The first picture outreaches the other two.”
Birgit
Yes the first picture, Trikaya, contains three Buddha images that intended to be symbolic of the three bodies or personalities of a Buddha, or Trikaya; In summary the painting is a about a manifestation in space and time, an ideal Buddha body form in an extra-cosmic realm, and one that embodies the very principle of enlightenment and knows no limits or boundaries. It sounds mind blowing, and the imagery is intended to do just this, with incredible strength, compassion and power like a thunderbolt (or Vajra – see wikipedia for full description http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vajra).
So to expand further; no, I’ll stop myself, please check the wikipedia page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trikaya.
Rather than “violent slashes of red and blue” the imagery is intended as symbolic of the five poisons and the five wisdoms in Buddhism. Wikipedia details this as -The five poisons are the mental states that obscure the original purity of a being’s mind, while the five wisdoms are the five most important aspects of the enlightened mind. And there are five wisdom Buddhas that reflect the qualities of the five wisdoms; each of the five Buddhas first identifies a specific human failing and then helps us in transforming it into a positive attribute, bringing about the spiritual evolution required for enlightenment (wikipedia).
Phew. On to the second picture, there is the “sense of fragility,… tinged with sadness”, and it’s not clear to see through the window? Why is this and what parallel does this have to life? What is beyond the window? Does it matter? The word “imprisonment” is helpful, in terms of the human condition implied in the painting. Is the dark blue centre part of the message? Is this representative of an inner depth that we are unfamiliar with exploring, surrounded by cloudiness of the mind? It is interesting that Birgit says “I only feel the prison, not the gaze of hope out of the prison” – don’t we find that sometimes the place we need to look for answers, is often not the place we don’t think to look, or want to look because it’s uncomfortable to look into?
The third picture has a mesmerising movement, and I like the mention of “nodes of individual consciousness that vibrate within the universal consciousness”. I wonder what else can be seen or interpreted here? Birgit, you probably feel ready to be happy and join in after your experience of the first two! Thankfully I know you’re ok, from the next posting.
I’m not familiar with Lukas Ligeti’s music yet. I’m keep to explore other musical inspiration, so I’ll look into it. His work sounds very interesting and could click well with my art.
It’s great to have feedback from a non-buddhist angle, as a lot of people who see the picture will be the same.
The observations or indeed exclamations from Troels are very, very interesting; I like to hear what everyone perceives or prefers in the choice of these three paintings.
You’re right, Birgit, looking at the larger images, and especially looking from far away, lets you see things different things.
All of the paintings evoke a sense of wind to me. The length of the brush strokes is important to this, but also how the strokes relate to each other. In the first painting, groups of strokes are at sharp angles to each other, giving the feeling of electric tension. In the second they’re more uniform in direction, though I can’t say whether the “wind” is blowing in or out through the window. In the third painting, storkes are more connected and flowing, giving the more peaceful feeling.
As I mentioned before, in #1 the red and blue networks (not continuous, but we link the parts by color) are interpenetrating, filling this universe with two very different, perhaps even antagonistic aspects. I would not go so far as to call this violent, however. Sometimes different red parts coalesce into a form that might be a larger figure (Buddha?), but I can never hold onto it.
In the second painting, the white areas sometimes look like they may hint at figures like the Buddhas of #1, but they’re more vague. If I riff a little on things Mark mentioned (though maybe not about this image), the white seems to be outside the window and perhaps relates to some knid of enlightenment, while the yellow/green feels like poisons wafting more inside.
In the third picture, I think of either sea (fish in water) or air (leaves on the breeze). Either way, the darker regions can read like shadows of something, maybe even us. It’s also reminiscent of artistic illustrations of neurons, the yellow parts being the main cell bodies.
I expect my experience with these works would depend on what preparation I had. I would look for an artist’s statement early on to help me get the most out of them. After looking on my own, I would like to go through the exhibit with the artist to hear more about them.
Art should work on many levels. Although there’s much I would not get from these as a naive viewer, I appreciate that I can go back to them and see new things when I am ready to. It will be interesting, Mark, to see how this plays out with the viewership you get at the exhibit.
You may recall that my previous posting was titled Inhale Audio, Exhale Art. Air or wind is a key part of audio sound, and for me it is integral to my art. Wikipedia quotes – According to modern science, air (the atmosphere) is a mixture of many compounds, but in traditional cultures, air is often seen as a universal power or pure substance. Its fundamental importance to life can be seen in words such as spirit, inspire, expire, and aspire, all derived from the Latin spirare (“to breathe”). My paintings capture a lot of air or wind from the audio journey, so you are right to notice the sense of wind Steve, I’m exhaling art, I’m exhaling part of my inner being onto canvas.
The red and blue networks are intended as the male and female aspects in Buddhism (Vajrayana), and of the light and dark aspects within us as humans. The intangible nature of a Buddha or enlightened being, is hopefully why it is difficult to hold onto form that might be something larger than we can conceive in the painting. Perhaps I have an intangible nature as a human being, and maybe that comes through in my work. Do we like to be pigeon-holed?
The second painting is symbolic of the aspect of the cyclic existence, or suffering (from a Buddhist perspective), whereby we are trapped within the wheel of life through our ignorance of how things truly exist. Sometimes we have glimpses within the mental continuum of a deeper, contentment and happiness – and these are part of the energy is that is drawing us to look beyond the window before us. As for the inner poisons of desire, anger, hatred, delusion, greed, pride and envy, these are hinted at but the focus is toward the Gaze of Hope, or the wisdom antidotes. Applying an understanding of these is hard work, and maybe why it’s not easy to grasp these in the painting.
The third picture is, my own version of ‘Kacho-ga’ – the Japanese depiction of birds and flowers, and the viewer is looking down into the water at an abstraction of Ducks. The wind and water elements combine to bring an aspect of mesmerising enchantment to the viewer, drawing you in, deeper, it feels safe (Birgit wanted “to join in”) – Ducks are symbolic of emotional comfort and protection! If everyone’s neurons are electrically excited then that’s a great effect.
I try to keep my artist statement brief as on myspace (http://www.myspace.com/mjillingworth) and my website (http://www.ifitrains.com). For the Insight exhibition I’ll write one just before the exhibition, for the exhibition in particular. It’s good for art to work on many levels as you say Steve and I love the contrast of what everyone sees here. My statement would not normally give the depth of answers I’m giving here, but I’m open to hear what everyone thinks about artists statements?
Well I have read your comments and I understand what I am about to say dosn’t mesh with what you intended so please forgive somone who dosn’t have alot of knowledge. You did ask for how it makes you feel and what we perceived from the images.. so here goes.
The first one just didn’t rub well with me. It felt very angry. I think I seen the three people but to me they felt trapped and angry.
The second one was facinating. It was like you could look out but you couldn’t but you could once you found the way to looking out. I could look at that one for a very long time and be happy. Very much like a puzzle to the soul.
the third one just made me think of free falling or floating kinda like meditation contenplation of the soul.
The second two the music i felt was cusco. A very relaxing yet entrancing melody.
I really did enjoy them.
It’s good to give feedback and comments without having previous knowledge or being party to earlier discussion – in fact it’s a good truthful bit of feedback, not tainted by previous thought, so thanks very much.
It’s fascinating that anger and violence have been mentioned a couple of time now for Trikaya, when in actual fact this is not intended. Perhaps there is an element of subconscious deeper anger in the artist, that has come through during the painting (music used was called Audio Therapy! how funny!), or indeed there is a conscious effort within to overcome the dangerous minds of anger, with peace and compassion.
As for “Gaze of Hope” presenting a “puzzle to the soul” then that’s a good and different interpretation of the reasoning behind the painting. – this is intended as something that requires a long gaze! I don’t know about everyone else, but the puzzle to my mind or soul will take some time!
The floating in #3 probably comes about from the ducks moving downstream, gently to the melody – dancing neurons!
Mark,
I have spent a while playing with your pictures, being on my last day of vacation. The first picture has grown on me. I particularly like the blue region below the central Buddha and the three red regions surrounding it towards the bottom.
I see more trinities than just the 3 buddhas:. While the buddhas are stationary, the other trinities are dancing: 3 red shapes at the bottom, 3 less focused red shapes on top and 3 blue shapes running diagonally from the right bottom to the left. I don’t see anger but rather a conflict between the dancing shapes and the immobile buddhas.
The middle picture still makes me feel sad. Speaking of neurons, it reminds me of neurodegenerative brain tissue, ripping apart.
I still like the Kacho-ga picture best, perhaps because it does not contain stationary elements. The ducks do not remind me of neurons yet. I see neurons as more densely packed within the confines of our brains.
Birgit, not Troels, forgot to reset the address
Birgit, thanks for spending some of your vacation considering my paintings.
What other intepretations do visitors have?
Mark,
Trikaya: I saw the Buddhas so I started looking for more. Couldn’t find any so I looked for other possiblilities but quit pretty quickly as it seemed sort of gamey (on my part) and the colors seemed to discourage a long viewing (too bright, sort of harsh) which seemed unusual considering I commonly find the Buddha more calming.
Gaze of Hope: I saw a window but couldn’t see through it which seemed something other than what the title suggested and artist intended. And then I thought Cross, so I gave up.
Above the Enchantment: First Shells, then Flowers, then Fish, then Title and then the thought: why be Above the enchantment?
Mark,
this is a Time-Lapse Representation of Firing Rates Recorded in Retinal Neurons Using a Multielectrode Array
http://download.neuron.org/supplementarydata/neuron/40/6/1147/DC1/McLaughlin%20S3.mov>
D, there are 3 clear Buddhas, the others as mentioned earlier are symbolic of the five wisdoms that address the 5 poisons (in Buddhism) – these are not easy to perceive or to see with the normal eye, and are therefore not in the form of a Buddha as the other 3. Wrathful images are sometimes used in Buddhism to transform evil into good, and hence the difference to the calm imagery commonly used. I hope the colours were not too strong on the eyes – I know they’re quite powerful!
It’s intentional that you can’t see through the window clearly – see comment #9.
And again please see comment #9 for Above the Enchantment.
Birgit – thanks for the time lapse movie – I can see why neurons could be perceived instead of ducks.
Mark,
“Wrathful images are sometimes used in Buddhism to transform evil into good, and hence the difference to the calm imagery commonly used.”
But the three Buddhas that I can discern still seem sort of “wrathful”. Is that because they are still not fully realized? When they calm, will they change color? Soften and be plump? Are the 5 poisons all in the same state of transformation? Or do they reflect your state of being? My state of being? Our state of being? I feel that my “inner posions” are often in a state of flux. For example, I am drinking my coffee and not driving a car.
D.
Coffee, drunk in moderation, is no longer considered unhealthy because of its anti-oxidant properties.
Conversely, spinach may be unhealthy because its oxalate content chelates calcium, decreasing calcium absorption – as I read in the NYT in the late sixties.
So much for what our mothers told us.
D – Buddha’s have different aspects, and/or should I say are depicted with different aspects. It’s not to do with them being fully realized or not (by default, as a Buddha they are) – it’s to do with them displaying different characteristics, at different times, to help in different ways. Birgit’s mention of the different aspects of coffee and spinach are helpful too – dependent upon our understanding or what we know, they appear can differently, or possess other qualities.
The 5 poisons are present in an un-enlightened mind “ The five poisons are the mental states that obscure the original purity of a being’s mind, while the five wisdoms are the five most important aspects of the enlightened mind”. Please see symbolism under http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vajra – I’m not expert but this might help.
I’m off for a coffee ; -)
Mark,
I have not read too many of the comments but I must say I really like these paintings. Your paintings are what I would call ‘meaningful abstraction’.
“Gaze of Hope’ is especially beautiful as the window begins to slowly take more concrete share the more I focus out of the painting…
“Above the Enchantment” speaks volumes about rowers tossed about on high seas with angry tides all around them – not a very enchanting scenario – but that is what I saw.
It was ‘Trikaya’ that set me thinking.. I was not too sure what it was. I checked out “Trikaya” on the web and realized that it was a Buddhist interpretation of the Hindu trinity that I had learned as a child (called ‘Trimurti)… It is compelling but somehow does not satisfy me – just my view…
Sunil, thanks very much for your comments.
I appreciate that we see a representation of Trikaya differently – that’s cool, and I expect all our art to be viewed differently.
Yes, meaningful abstraction is a good description of how I work. I think abstraction draws me deeper everyday; to reach into producing my inner self on canvas, guided by music.
Everyone, so far, had a unique set of responses to the three paintings.
Yeah, it’s great. It’s like when everyone is listening to music in a club or anywhere else, they get into their own zone, and have their own experience and this is what I try and convey in my art.
Mark,
“It’s like when everyone is listening to music in a club or anywhere else, they get into their own zone, and have their own experience and this is what I try and convey in my art.”
I’m not dancing. I want more. I want more than what I already have. I live a simple life but I am also Greedy.
D, I don’t literally mean you should be dancing or not dancing, I was referring more to the indivual perception (or zone) that we all have when we consider art – individually we can only get what we “get” from each piece of art, based upon our own perceptions.
I would encourage contentment if there’s a pull between simple life and greed. The middle way of art.
Mark.
But what I am suggesting is that for me to be in the Zone I need to feel a more specific connection. I am sensing that you are more content with a general experience, one that encourages whatever it is that we happen to have happen.
Thanks for following-up as I am curious about what you are trying to do and why I want more.
D
Sorry, I’ll try and clarify. The ideal is for the viewer to get into my zone at the time of painting, but for the viewer to do that is like asking someone to know the mind of another – a difficult task for anyone! Surely the best I can hope for is for the viewer to have their own experience based upon their knowledge, perceptions and understanding. Maybe my painting can draw them as close as possible to my “zone” at the time of painting but I appreciate that I may or may not achieve this for different people.
Maybe if the viewer heard the music that I heard at the time of painting, it might open things up more.