When does a painting start?

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?

When does a painting start?

1/11/2023

2 Comments

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.

2 Comments

Donna Berwick

1/11/2023 10:56:29 pm

I hadn’t heard the word apophenia before but I’ve recently been researching into Object Oriented Ontology and art which raises similar questions. I shall look forward to reading more on this topic. Love the painting BTW!

Antony Clarkson link

1/12/2023 02:59:50 pm

Hi Donna, thanks for the comment. Yes, it appears that apophenia is a new subject to most people. I came across via a conversation about pareidolia, which deals with the purely visual in similar terms, whereas apophenia is a more global concept which can include the thinking behind conspiracy theories. OOO is fascinating, but I am almost pursuing the opposite as I want my objects to have a anthropometric nature.

Apophenia:
An Uncanny Presence.
2022