'ever been paid in drugs? 

(or why do we create art in the first place?)

Chapter 1

     It's a silly question really… when I already know the answer! Of course you have been paid this way, and I can prove it!.. read on.

     Not having painted since my school days, in 2012 I became almost painfully involved with art (oil painting) and quickly reached the point where I was thinking of almost nothing else. Not just technique, subject matter, and creative possibilities but the whole business - the effect that art was having on me... and others. How,why and what art actually was.

Completely hooked, I was producing works of art as well as being totally consumed by it. I was overdosing on the damned thing!

     From my initial thoughts on the subject, it occurred to me how vague a term 'art' is. For example, the 'art' of keeping clean when creating a work of art is to wear an artist's apron. In this context the word 'art' doesn't really refer to 'art' at all – not the activity we are looking to define.

Similarly, though they all offer much to qualify themselves, the art of making a great soufflé or the art of creative selling, public speaking, seduction, or conning people out of their life savings on the telephone are all of little interest.

I can well remember when I was twelve, a male teacher offering what he thought to be sound advice when he said "boys, always remember, the art of getting out of drying the dishes is to break something really valuable and you'll never be asked to do it again". Well, what a low life Mr Parkin was!

     But what about the art of creative writing, how to write a pop song, dancing or acting? Can we just ignore all of these and the millions of other contenders in order to concentrate on what has become known to us as 'fine art'?  Well, this we will do - at least for now (Don't worry, I've not forgotten about you and your drugs habit).

I have always been a bit of a thinker and I really chewed on this subject for about three or four years.

Then, one morning in 2017 I had great breakthrough when a light bulb moment, - an epiphany detailed in this chapter - was to set me off in a certain direction - ultimately opening up something I'd been deprived of all my life – 'The Facts of Art'.

In brief, my initial conclusion was that art was directly connected to what actually makes us human.

     Like watching an apple fall to the ground, it was basic but mind-blowing so I started to write things down in the hope that the things I'd uncover would further lead to new discoveries and a greater understanding of my chosen subject. And so, it did, the basics providing the scaffolding to not only get me higher, but to hang on other emerging supportive facts. Here is a quote from a person I have got to know quite well:

"Practice what you know, and it will help to make clear what now you do not know." - Rembrandt

Well, that's kind of what I had been doing for about ten years, after which time I felt ready to share what I had learned. My personal treasure. And it’s  something I doubt you will have found in any art historian's account or philosophical debate on the subject.

     Unfortunately, 'The Facts of Art' are as difficult to summarise as the meaning of life, the universe, and everything, which, if you have read The Hitchhikers Guide to The Galaxy, you will know turned out to be 42, a conclusion too summarised to be of any use at all.

Intentionally, I have never read a single book on art (or most other things come to think of it (I have been dyslexic since the days when it was called 'eezabithick'), therefore, the content of this book is based solidly on original thought and not something I've read somewhere. You may go along with all of it, part of it, or none of it, but ideally, you should challenge every single statement so as to verify your own conclusions and beliefs.

Whatever, they are my individual beliefs and not merely a regurgitation of what has gone before.

I am told that most books on the subject of art have been written by art critics, art historians, philosophers, and some artists themselves, and that they are usually crammed with quotes or theories of other art critics, art historians, philosophers, and artists; all explaining with great confidence, or speculating, just what the creator of that piece of work, or thought, was trying to convey - or what was going through their mind at the time.

Let's face it, it's a pretty 'safe' approach to writing a book on art; to include as many quotes, dates and personal details as possible - as well as artistic achievements of people who have attained great acclaim in their chosen artistic fields; then to re-present them in an eloquent and articulate form so as to end up with a lengthy account - beautifully embroidered (when what really matters is that it fits!).

Also, if you removed all that 'arty-farty' admiration stuff I guess you'd be left with a very thin book!

In 'The Facts of Art' I have tried to keep my quotations and analysis of artworks limited to only that which serves to unpeel the layers of myth, mystery and falsehoods built up over many years, and which surround art today. I call this state of affairs the ‘modern confusion' (We'll talk about your drug habit shortly).

Tour guide

To do justice to explaining the subject of art, I believe it is necessary to go back to the very beginning - the roots. This is something I am pretty sure people don't normally do when writing a book on art but here goes.

Let me describe a situation:

 A person is commissioned to write not a history of art, but a descriptive piece for a tour guide, specifically, a coach journey from Rome to London.

Unfortunately, through no fault of their own, the coach has already left Rome and reached Calais when they receive notification of the assignment in the post – and they only manage to board it at Dover.

Still a bit flustered by the rush they now make themselves comfortable and settle back in their seat making notes and taking in the scenery between Dover and Canterbury (looking at art as it is perceived today) and whilst trying to take in the experience, they are also mentally addressing the problem they have in deciding what to write about the journey from Rome to Dover (the history and roots of art).

In the event, they base the piece on their journey from Dover to London but also conversations they've had with passengers who joined the train earlier (previous writings of others), but, unfortunately for them, at Brussels and Lille. Thus, their piece is incomplete.

'The Facts of Art' is an account that goes back all the way to Rome.

     Okay then, if we are 'going back all the way to Rome (or why we want to create art in the first place?) it means we can't talk about art for a while, because to understand the 'art bug' we must first discuss the 'survival bug'. You see, believe it or not, but art is actually driven by the very same mechanism - genes - that are responsible for our human survival. In other words, art is rooted in our survival genes. They provide the engine, and it is this 'sponsorship' that continually provides the encouragement, drive and motivation for creating what we call art today (challenge this by all means but finish the book first).

Survival

To explain: Fundamentally (and including humans), each species of life on Earth has a winning formula that has kept it in existence... at least so far.

Every species really is a winner, because for every one that has survived thousands of others have died out – or blown up on the launch pad. For example: the 'Hi-Viz' pink moth didn't really stand a chance when it landed on the trunk of that old brown oak tree did it? No, but the brown 'oak tree moth' did well in avoiding being turned into lunch for the 'lesser spotted moth-eater' bird - by virtue of its colour, camouflage, physical abilities or a combination of them.

Colour, shape, behaviour, mannerisms, and abilities are all factors that directly shape a species chance of survival in the wild.

I wonder if you have noticed that most species, particularly when young, constantly rehearse and practice their essential survival skills and abilities i.e. the winning formula that has helped prevent them from dying out. Well, here's the important bit, each time they do so they are rewarded by a self-administered small drop of chemical (perhaps dopamine) supplied to a certain part of their brain (perhaps the amygdala). A perfect little shot of happiness that can range in intensity from mild satisfaction to excitement to euphoria. And when this happens, the last thing they consider is that their brain has just been squirted with 'happy juice', but instead just put it down to an 'ahh yes' moment - a rewarding experience

Whichever way, they enjoy it, so this system ensures everyone wants to continue practicing the skills they need to survive, what they naturally excel at - their essential survival formula. 

So, practicing these activities feels good and, as a consequence, they want to do it again and again and again.

Right now, I don't know what behaviour a sea cucumber would get its reward for but let's start with a dog!

My dog has no idea why he chases after a ball. All he knows is he gets a little happy feeling each time he does so… and each time he does it, he immediately wants to do it again. In fact, he'll do it all day long if you are obliging enough to keep throwing it. He even brings it back to you – dropping it at your feet and engaging you in eye-contact to encourage you to throw it again!

Running with me, burying bones, marking territory, playing tug, sniffing other dogs (in fact sniffing all over the place), chasing cats, barking, and looking scary etc. It happens with all these activities; things that relate directly to the survival of his species in the wild. Although, I have to say that, after thousands of generations of being domesticated, my dog has now somewhat 'lost the plot'.

One day whilst throwing the ball for the umpteenth time, it landed in the bushes and a terrified rabbit shot out running straight past him as he was running at break-neck speed towards the ball. It caused him to execute an emergency stop, sit down and look back at me. I think he was even more surprised than the rabbit! And, with a single glance, he seemed to say, "well I don't know what that was, but it certainly wasn't a real ball"!

Generally, practicing these skills makes him happy - makes him feel fulfilled. Makes him feel like a dog! And it's his survival genes that reward him with the drug every single time.

Cats, on the other hand, have a quite different approach - constantly practicing sneaking up on things and attacking them, horses get fun from running, beavers build dams etc. And they all get rewarded for doing so. All they know is that they enjoy doing it. And we humans are exactly the same, every day, constantly practicing our basic survival skills. Something in our brains encourages us to do so and then pays us off with a drug for succeeding.

"What? Humans practicing survival skills" I hear you say. And paid off in drugs for doing so? Well believe it or not we do it, almost constantly, and every single day! So what is the human equivalent of chasing after that ball? Can you work it out?

In business we talk about having a winning formula or a 'unique selling point' (USP) that gives a company a greater chance of survival and success – an edge over its rivals. Some USPs are more effective, and 'transferable' than others; and as you might suspect our human USP is a pretty potent one, but what is it?  What is our USP?

We know we humans owe our success basically to two great attributes – a big brain and an opposing thumb. But what do we constantly practice and get rewarded for every single day? While you're thinking about it, consider these five factors that together make up the 'essence' of man's advantage. All enabled by our 'big brain'.

Curiosity – a driving and natural desire to discover (reduces our ignorance and builds on our knowledge - survival).

Imagination - enables us to picture things, actions, and situations, meaning we can carry out activities inside our head before actually performing them in real life; often aborting an action whilst still in the concept stage because just by thinking about it is sufficient to prove it might not work, would not work, or would prove too costly or too risky.

Creativity - turbo charged by imagination, creativity produces new and valuable assets that enable us to 'win' over other species (as well as winning over, or impressing, other humans – still a form of winning). It means we can solve problems in all sorts of imaginative ways.

Communication - born of imagination and creativity our advanced level of communication enables us to build on the knowledge of others, through spoken and recorded words. This way we can use the good work and conclusions of others as a starting point for our own - pushing the creative barriers even further. Similarly, it can also offer us the opportunity to disprove other's false conclusions.

Human survival skills

So, how do you group these qualities into one activity – the activity we are obsessively concerned with for most of our time?  Well, it's not the perfect description of the activity we're looking for but 'problem solving' is close enough for us to work with. 'Problem solving' exercises all our survival skills and it is uppermost in our minds for most of the time, and not just our working day, but even times when we are supposed to be at rest… relaxing! We can't stop problem solving!

Although we might not even realise we are doing it, we exercise our human advantage through this activity, constantly, and, in some cases, obsessively! Although, it might be more accurate to call it attempted problem solving as sometimes we get no further than the 'attempting to solve a problem' stage – and worse - sometimes only succeeding in worsening the problem. Nevertheless, the drive is prevalent and this is the activity that fills so much of our days.

And it's not just our own problems, we'll help anybody with their problem if we can – even total strangers.

How willing are people to offer directions? We like nothing more than a good problem to get our teeth into. In fact, a simple problem like offering directions to someone is a 'no-brainer' as it's normally an easy challenge and without risk, yet we still get rewarded for it with the drug. Satisfaction with no risk – see Mick Jagger?

We have learnt greatly over recent years that there can be a slight downside to man's creative talents, but let's just ignore the total destruction of our planet and every single creature that lives on it for now!

     When considering the brain, by the way, things make a lot more sense when we acknowledge the two distinct (sometimes competing) sides of the brain. They are each powerful tools, with their individual strengths. The primitive, or emotional section of the brain which gives us the animal-like basic drives, (the amygdala) and the well-developed frontal lobes which enable the processing power necessary to assimilate, imagine and thereby invent or create new solutions to problems (the neocortex). If we can get these two working well together, success is almost guaranteed. Alas, failure to do so often brings misery or even catastrophe.

On a regular basis, politicians, policemen, teachers, royalty, priests, rock stars, actors etc all provide us with great examples of how people can succumb to basic, primitive, temptations (mainly sex and greed) whilst the rational, calculating side of their brain is telling them to do otherwise.

However, (standing back and squinting our eyes – a great artistic technique) our cerebral advantage has more or less stood us in good stead for thousands of years. The results speak for themselves: forget about a cheetah, we can't even run as fast as a cow (25 mph) but hey, no problem, we invented the wheel. We can't fly like the birds, but we solved that too, with aeroplanes. And even the scariest creatures on the planet usually meet their match when they come up against we humans - maybe with a gun! The unsavoury reality is that we use our brains so that we eat them rather than the other way around.

Sex, shelter, comfort, respect, security, and fulfilment are all valid potential goals in our quest. And each time we forge ahead, even by the smallest measure, we receive our own internal reward for doing so. And there's no point in saying "well it's not like that for me, I just like doing it". Why do you like doing it? And how about the day after doing it? Why does nostalgia feel so good if not to revisit, relive and reclaim a watered-down version of that reward, sometimes over and over again? Just lying back and sucking on that sweet thought of that day when you knocked it out the park.

Being aware of your mental state

     Being human, it can be quite a challenge for people to admit their actions are all down to simple brain chemistry - or even understand it. For example, try explaining to an emotionally swamped child (or adult for that matter) that they are crying or behaving aggressively just because they are tired – or telling a drunken person that the cause of their frustrations is the alcohol in their bloodstream and not the issue they think it is. The child and the adult will always come back with alternative reasons for their mood or actions. And at that point, your reasoning is futile because, temporarily, they have become the person they are at that moment (different brain function, therefore, different person).

Just the same as my dog's chemically driven repetitive obsession with fetching his ball, 'problem solving' can also mean addressing the same challenge time after time. For example, it might mean taking on the same adversary in a game of chess, badminton, snooker, tennis etc. Working on finding a cure for cancer day after day, or locking horns with that argumentative person down the pub. Each time we embark upon the same task, previous failure is forgotten and renewed hope lifts our confidence - that this time we might just succeed. And, once again we are right into the challenge and driven to find that elusive  solution to the same old problem.

Striving and working hard can also bring its own satisfaction because it is linked to winning (solving a problem) and providing a 'purpose' often becomes the solution in itself. Putting your head down and 'getting on with it' has the additional advantage of contentment through application. Confidently believing the job is in hand and therefore success will follow. The gym can bring a similar reward… with bells on! (endorphins). I don't know how many times in my life I have chosen to do physical work rather than a more pressing job that requires difficult decisions to be made.

"He says the more I get to thinking, the less I tend to laugh - the boy's got brains - he just abstains".

Paul Simon.

     Problem solving not only improves our situation (generally – unless your name is Frank Spencer) but it's in our blood; written into our DNA. We can't stop finding solutions to problems even if we wanted to. And when we've solved one, we start looking for the next. This might take the form of working through your job list, or, if you are a less practical type, doing a crossword puzzle… the insane activity of exercising your brain to relax! Getting pleasure from challenging ourselves when we could be resting (meditating?).

We set ourselves new targets and challenges all of the time, in fact with disaster planning, we even provide solutions to problems that don't yet exist! Problems we have imagined or situations that just might occur.

At the end of the day, most of us still find difficulty in switching off – disengaging from our work-related problems; perhaps by watching TV with its quiz shows and murder mysteries etc. Replacing one set of problems with another set of slightly less taxing ones, seeing how someone else manages to solve their problem. 

Doing jigsaw puzzles, sudoku, playing games, learning an instrument, training for a race or event, or perhaps learning to dance. These are all problems to be solved, therefore potential sources of fulfilment for us humans.

By contrast, my dog has very little interest in sudoku, and I just can't get him interested in taking piano lessons or learning to play the flugelhorn. Different priorities, see? Different survival formula.

By the way, the reason I feel compelled to write my thoughts down on this very subject is to help discover a better answer to that old annoying question 'what is art' and why do we do it?

Art is a particularly good way to challenge yourself, exercising some of the tools in your problem-solving armoury and hopefully cashing in on the associated rewards. 

Favourite cushion

     Of course at the time he doesn't think too deeply about what he is doing, that the cushion is just a very rough approximation  of a bitch in season, all he knows is that it feels good. But, getting pleasure from his cushion, or your leg, is in reality a creative modification (or corruption) of a successful working system. This shortcut, or cheat, provides a simplified route to reward.  And just as the conman finds a way to get the reward (money) by means of an improper  shortcut  (scam) this fact of life exists because it can... and does. 

     So, why should creative art (or problem solving games) be described as anything  other than a creative. or even accidental, modification to the working system? Granted, it's a very rough simulation to a more 'life or death' scenario, but art offers an excellent way of exercising many of our problem-solving skills, as well as a "favourite cushion" reward. 

If you ask most people why they do art, I am sure they will give you a variety of reasons but not this one.

What does this mean then? Does it mean when I next go off to the art group I should say to my wife "darling I won't be home too late, I'm just off to play with my favourite cushion" Hmmm.

Seriously though, in art the rewards can either come in the form of self-satisfaction – proving to yourself you can do it, praise from friends and family (affirmation) or even, if you are lucky enough to have your own exhibition or TV show, a life changing reward. 

Exercising or acquiring new skills during the creation of a piece of art can also be a rich source of reward in itself but if you paint the same thing fifty times over, the rewards diminish as the creative or technical challenge decreases

Some solutions receive universal acclaim, whilst others don't quite make their inventors rich, but every day people rise to challenges and come up with excellent solutions of their own. Here are some crude, but humorous examples of humans using creative problem-solving abilities.

Fact - art exercises our survival advantage