antony clarkson - Apophenia: An Uncanny Presence. 2022

Apophenia:
An Uncanny Presence.
2022

Whilst exploring painted spaces via my Personal Topographies series I was constantly aware that the next development in this painted process would be the introduction of abstract presences. Although I have been using the word presence to denote the manifestations in my work, I am now wondering if it is perhaps the best word to use. If the presence in question is always, pseudo human should I be considering the idea of anthropomorphism instead? Or perhaps in more global terms pareidolia? Or more properly apophenia?

'Ways of Seeing.'

2/24/2023

NN VIII, charcoal & chalk tonal study.

'Seeing comes before words. The child looks and recognizes before it can speak.

But there is also another sense in which seeing comes before words. It is seeing which establishes our place in the surrounding world; we explain that world with words, but words can never undo the fact that we are surrounded by it. The relation between what we see and what we know is never settled. Each evening we see the sun set. We know that the earth is turning away from it. Yet the knowledge, the explanation, never quite fits the sight.'

John Berger, 'Ways of Seeing', 1972.

I was recently reminded of Berger's essay, particularly it's opening sentence. Knowledge is the key to interpretation, no matter how small that amount of knowledge might be. When we look at the world our definition of what we see is based on what we already know. But sometimes this knowledge may lead us astray via a bias based on an insufficient amount of knowledge or even on a want; the conspiracy theory area of apophenia. Berger's example of the world turning is an excellent, if unintended, example of this:

'Each evening we see the sun set. We know that the earth is turning away from it. Yet the knowledge, the explanation, never quite fits the sight.'

For some people it never will fit. The science is sound and yet some people chose to believe that the world is flat.

The Intentionality Fallacy?

2/14/2023

Work in progress. NN (Nomen Nescio) IIV: An Uncanny Presence. Series.
Oil on canvas ,94 × 70 cm (37 × 27.5 inches)

I am currently studying and reflecting upon 'Apophenia. Littlewood's Law of Miracles and the Intentionality Fallacy' by David Christopher Lane. One of Lane's key arguments, is to my mind, whilst not necessarily in based upon the mathematics of Littlewood Law, is his demonstration of how individuals thoughts and needs, both consciously and unconsciously, affect how that individual may connect random dots to form what Lane refers to as desultory decussations. Or the point where two or more random occurrences appear to cross or connect in the mind of an individual due not though the mathematics of Littlewood but simply through the mind set of the individual in question.

This theory is of great importance to the work which I am currently pursuing in that it confirms my own hypothesis that an observer sees an 'image' or idea in a piece of art because they expect, want or even need to see one. In the text Lane uses an excellent example in his debunking of Elliot Benjamins license plate synchronicity by pointing out that it was in all likelihood Benjamin's own frame of mind which made him interpret what he saw in his license plates as being significant to him because he wanted or needed it to be so.

So what do you see it the painting above and why do you see it?

The dots we want to perceive, the ones we choose to ignore and the stories we tell ourselves...

2/6/2023

NN VII, charcoal & chalk tonal study.

A dot is a signal, a sign. It gives us a point but it also gives us a direction. it points to the next dot. Perhaps it points to several dots. Perhaps it is part of a liner sequence. Perhaps it is part of a complex matrix of dots? Or perhaps it isn't.

Perhaps it is just a dot, a single isolated point of information?

Perhaps, perhaps not.

There are very few, if any, totally isolated dots in the universe that aren't related in some way to any others.

But there is another option as to what it might be. Perhaps our dot is not part of the liner sequence or matrix that we think it is. Perhaps it is part of a totally different pattern and it is just coincidence, or apophenia, that makes it appear to some people as being part of the system their conscious or subconscious wants it to be.

And so the conspiracy theory is born.

Conscious vs Unconscious?

1/29/2023

NN (Nomen Nescio) V: An Uncanny Presence.
Oil on canvas, 123 X 91 cm (48 x x36 inches).

When we observe anything how much of it us conscious and how much subconscious? When we encounter a traditional figurative painting we apparently analyse it with our conscious mind. It's a human figure, the figure is male, it has blue eyes. It has red hair and beard and a bandaged ear; its Vincent Van Gogh. But although those clues are obvious are we going consciously go through that process? No, of course not. Our eye see those details, our subconscious mind connects the dots and gives us an instant conclusion, we are looking at a painting of the artist.

Every day we can do the same with much subtler details and we do it every second of our lives. Even the slightest variations in the shade of blue of the eyes and the red of the hair can tell us the difference between Vincent Van Gogh and say Prince Harry. This is where our apophenia plays a positive role.

But what about when the details are ambiguous? One persons blue eyes may be another grey. Then our minds are left with a more uncertain field for our interpretation. There may be multiple clues, dots, but there may be more that one pattern that can be obtained through their connection. And sometimes there may not be any real clues at all, except the ones that we want to perceive.

Why paint?

1/19/2023

Work in progress. NN (Nomen Nescio) VI: An Uncanny Presence.
Oil on canvas ,123 × 91 cm (48 × 36 inches)

According to Tate, ‘Painting is the practice of applying paint or other media to a surface, usually with a brush. In art, the term painting describes both the act of painting, and the result of the action – the painting as object.

The intention of my new work is…to paint. But paint what? Nothing. Nothing definable at least. That I leave to you, the observer and your apophenia. I paint for the action of pure painting, the sensual release that I attain from the practice of painting, and perhaps transmit via the painting as object. Paint on top of paint, paint beside paint, colour vibrates next to colour. Tints, tones, shades and hues vary. Paint covers colour, colour reveals paint. Lines makes shapes, shapes make lines. Painting is done.

So, having defined what (a) painting is and why I paint, what does ‘the painting as object’ do?
To define what it does is more difficult, as it may do many things, but let’s try to simplify it.
Does a painting pass information? Sometimes, but not always.
Does a painting provoke emotion? Often, but again not always.
Does a painting make us think? Hopefully, but once again, probably not always.
If we consciously engage with a painting, is it intended to do the above? Generally, a painting is created to do all or at least some of the above in varying combinations.
But are the notions of openness, empathy and thought purely conscious? No, of course not, so how does a painting interact with out subconscious?

When does a painting start?

1/11/2023

NN (Nomen Nescio) IV: An Uncanny Presence. Oil on canvas.

At what point do brush strokes on a canvas coalesce into an 'image'. or at least an idea, as opposed to being just an abstract expression of depth? When and how do these marks attain the critical mass necessary to become greater than the sum of their parts?

I'm asking this question in regards to my own current paintings; although it is applicable to all paintings. On the whole this consideration would suggest that it is solely the concern of figurative painting, not flat abstraction. However I intend to argue that all painting is by it's very nature flat abstraction. And that it is only via the process of apophenia that we ever make that mental leap from brushstrokes to idea.

Over the next few weeks and blog posts I will consider critical theory from many commentators on art; including Clement Greenberg, Leo Steinberg, Donald Judd, to assist my evaluation of this theory.

An Introduction to the Uncanny...

12/23/2022

NN (Nomen Nescio):
An Uncanny Presence. Oil on canvas

NN (Nomen Nescio) II:
An Uncanny Presence. Oil on canvas.

NN (Nomen Nescio) III:
An Uncanny Presence. Oil on canvas.

As I approach Christmas I am aware that although my output of paintings has continued my blogging has slowed down. So today I want to set the foundations for what is to come in the new year. My current work in the Apophenia Series, involves a series of what may almost be considered 'abstract portraits'. These are not what may be considered traditional abstractions in that they don't have any particular relationship to an individual. In the same way that my Personal Topographies of 2021 were landscapes of the mind; derived from a lifetime of experiences, these Uncanny Presences find their personalities born from the same fertile roots.

Are you seeing things? Probably!

12/7/2022

NN III, charcoal & chalk tonal study.

NN IV, charcoal & chalk tonal study.

So apophenia...not a very well known word I grant you. However I feel it is entirely the most appropriate word to describe the thought process behind my latest body of work. Via apophenia we see patterns or images where they may not actually exist, we all do it, that face in the clouds or the wonderful boxing octopus that is really a coat hook. Of course these are simple observations, but apophenia can be a symptom of something more serious such as schizophrenia. It can also explain the modern tendency to create and believe in conspiracy theories, seeing a pattern in random events where none exists.

On the whole in this blog I will be looking at how the observer may see patterns in abstract or none- representational art, but on occasions I will widen the field to consider these other aspects of the apophenia. But for now please take a look at the two tonal studies at the top of this post and see what you think; I'd love to know what you can see in them.

Back to the blogs... Day 1.

12/2/2022

NN (Nomen Nescio): An Uncanny Presence. Oil on canvas

NN II: An Uncanny Presence. Oil on canvas.

It's now been over a year since I completed the Self- Isolation Residency and it's accompanying blog; it was such a success that I have always my intended to return to blogging about my work , it's just taken a while to develop my ideas to an appropriate place.

My new work, although over the course of the next few weeks you may see some familiar works, explores the notion of what what I am calling an 'uncanny presence'. The ideas is that these abstract paintings might suggest the feeling of something intangible, something not quite there...

This 'suggestion' is caused by Apophenia: the tendency to perceive a connection or meaningful pattern between unrelated or random things (such as objects or ideas). As hopefully you may feel whilst viewing my latest two pieces at the top of the page.