ON LANDSCAPE…


All animals have a physique, which is controlled by their brain. The brain percepts the external world with help of the eyes, ears, tongue, skin and nose. These are our sensory organs. We can purposely restrict our eyes to see by just closing them. Also we can decide to not taste anything by not opening the mouth. But we cannot restrict our ear, skin and nose to sense the outer world. All the information from these sensory organs is transformed into thoughts-emotions by the brain. So, in a way we can say that the area called mind is situated here itself.
For now, we would experiment and try to concentrate only on our sensitivity due to physical organs i.e. our sensory organs and not emotions-thoughts. We are purposely restricting our brain that is full of all types of information, and our mind that is full of all types of emotions to interfere our seeing. One may find it next to impossible initially. But our history speaks here. The optical art. These artists have worked keeping there brains and mind aside! On the contrary we have seeing that sees things that are not even visible to the eyes themselves, since till today we link up emotions generated in the place called mind to painting as an inseparable part. The optical artists have proved how our mind misleads our seeing. They have stressed on scientific aspect of seeing that was always overcome by illusions and various concepts as we all know! (We all know science and philosophy believes proof and theories). They in a way showed us how eyes i.e. brain works without mind. For this experiment we would do the same. We need to concentrate on being with our sensory organs, rather let us feel as if we are nothing but eyes, ears, nose, and skin. Forget about your body. Try to be without thoughts, information, hunger, emotions etc... realize yourself that u r nothing but a unit with sensory organs. No name, no identity. Neglect this all. Eventually try to be without any kind of information that a brain can be carrying. For e.g. all ur past, your fun, pranks, names, identities of all the surrounding and if possible try to be without any language that u knew. As if u r Adam / Eve just born on a lonely planet. All-in Ur mind. Try to maintain this state.
Now onwards whatever u realize will be what ur organs did. E.g. one may realize the sound of a river flowing at a distance, or a sudden flatter of birds, even sound of ur breath after breath. U would come to know as u stay more and more aware ur senses will automatically sharpen up. Ur awareness would increase.
Carry this experience but don’t start thinking on it. Now just anytime u feel put ur experiences in any form u feel to express in. spontaneously. And remember to express the experience u got due to the sensory organs only. Then and then only the experiment would exist.
We know an architect can give us perfectly executed perspective, a computer can create magic, and then the question arises what do we painters have? Are we missing our sensitivity while getting trained, academically? Or r we stuck up in the same old concepts of thoughts, information (- that we many times are mistaken as knowledge) and emotions?
May be there we lack; we are unable to go universal. The subject that one paints reflects the geographical identity of the surroundings. Why does this happen? It is because we all the human beings are bestowed with a same kind of ability that is to be sensitive. Differences may be in experiences; the degree of sensitivity, opinions etc. but it does not happen that an American has lower ability to be able to hear than an Indian. Just a fun fact that a fly in France is with 400 lenses in her eyes so does the one in china!
What our problem is we want the name ‘art’ to whatever we do. We think it should be understood by the viewers etc. all should be left aside and then work. And at last u need to be loyal to ur sensitivity first!



Transcripted by Prajakta Madane