Shapers

(how art changes with time)

Chapter 3

     Particularly over the past century, artistic preferences and expressions have developed in quite extraordinary ways, evolving across various mediums, including painting, sculpture, physical art, music, architecture, writing, fashion, and other aspects of our art related life.

These shifts reflect not only changing artistic norms but advancements in technology, globalisation, and a growing emphasis on individualism.

The shaping of artistic norms, development and acceptability are determined by a number of factors that together impact on the ongoing state of art.

Persuasion

…the act of persuading someone to do something or believe in something.

When artists push boundaries, in nudges or leaps, they are presenting their case for consideration. As such, there is also an inbuilt suggestion from them that "this is good"; a suggestion without which art would remain static. Naturally, the artist wants everyone to 'believe' in him and his work.

The art critic then presents the artist with his first hurdle. If convinced by his work, the critic is then in a powerful position to add credence to the artist's claim that the work is indeed good, and to persuade others further down the artistic food-chain. And, as we are all aware, the power of persuasion – or influence - is a formidable weapon when applied in the right way… or for that matter, the wrong way.

If you are watching television and book critics agree that a certain book is a masterpiece, you are as likely to make an effort to read it as you would avoid it if they said it was “total rubbish”.

Hype and fame are also powerful persuaders that can greatly influence the success of a work of art. Each focussing maximum attention onto an individual, situation or object; they can have the same kind of effect as pouring petrol onto a small fire. Of course, once the hype or fame is burned out the small fire remains to be judged for its true merits.

Mystery

(that which defies easy or even possible explanation)

     The intrigue and fascination of 'mystery' connects directly to our innate human drive to solve problems, inviting us to engage our curiosity, intellect, and desire for understanding in the face of the unknown. Mystery is therefore perfect for stimulating and initiating our human 'problem solving' advantage (as described in chapter 1).

Many television and cinema dramas cash in on our natural attraction to the 'mysterious' and base a great percentage of their stories on a mystery of one kind or another.

Art forms we don't quite understand also fall into this category and benefit greatly from our fascination.

Working out what the artist was trying to express - or even being mystified by it - is enough to give us pleasure (a chemical reward).

Art that has a high 'creative' content, might therefore set a challenge for the observer to attempt to decipher the artist's message. Paintings, sculpture, songs, poetry etc all provide suitable platforms to offer mystery.

     However, an artist does not need to have a serious or complex message embodied in their work in order to trigger great intrigue in the observer. Nonsense lyrics or even unintended distortions of some kind are all suitable candidates for mystery. In fact, if people believe you are a true artist you can present them with the most obscure, even crazy, works and some will rave over it, discovering all kinds of things – genuine or imagined. (more)

In pop music, think "A Whiter Shade of Pale", "Bohemian Rhapsody", "Smells Like Team Spirit" etc. And in classical music, Malcolm Arnold or in art - Picasso.

     When realism didn't seem to be getting Van Gogh very far, around 1870 he wrote a letter to his brother, Theo, saying:

"today I painted a portrait and resisted the urge to blend. It produced an effect that I think people will find quite pleasing".

In fact, influenced by the growing impressionist movement, using bold colourful brushstrokes with thick paint, (and what we believe today as his apparent spectrum disorder) he had created a work that was indeed a portrait but one quite different to anything that had gone before.

     Years later, his work provided the challenge of understanding just what was going on in his head at the time he was doing these paintings, and the challenge was solving the mystery that he had unintentionally created. His letter to Theo suggests he was not so much looking to encapsulate some obscure cryptic message, but simply finding a new way of painting in order to "please" people. 

Bear in mind that it was now about forty years since people had first started taking photographs and thousands of artists were still ‘beavering’ away - searching for a new development of their own that might project them to creative - and/or financial - success.

Nevertheless, almost one hundred years later, in 1971 when Don McLean recorded his beautiful song 'Vincent' (or 'Starry, Starry Night' as it is often referred to) that didn't stop him from singing:

"now I understand what you tried to say to me, how you suffered for your sanity – how you tried to set them free. They did not listen; they did not know how. Perhaps they'll listen now".

Even though they themselves don’t quite understand them, these lyrics can easily be justified and interpreted by those who love the work of Van Gogh in all kinds of ways; to paint their own picture of a tortured genius with his life-long struggle to deliver a deep mysterious message to his audience - one that might even "set them free".

It's such a romantic concept, and perfectly delivered in Don McLean's song (who manages to deliver it in a way that successfully matches, in musical form, the cryptic style of Vincent's enigmatic work).

Well, sorry Don, but like most other artists of the day, my guess is that he wasn't so much trying to deliver a deep and meaningful message to you, but instead, was simply trying to get noticed and earn a living by presenting something new and different; Something that would "please" people. Remember, Vincent struggled to fend for himself, and even had been supported financially by his brother Theo for years, only selling one painting during his whole lifetime.

Propinquity-plus

Propinquity – the state of being close to someone or something. 

In social psychology, propinquity (from Latin propinquitas "nearness") is one of the main factors leading to interpersonal attraction. However, the word ‘Propinquity’ doesn’t quite hit the mark when I look for a term  that describes the phenominon I want to refer to. i.e. familiarisation that ends up with the individual falling in love with a person object or concept. 

     I therefore have devised my own descriptive term for that - ‘Propinquity-plus’.

I love this little used word ‘Propinquity’ (which was once in everyday use). It not only sounds beautiful - almost musical - but goes some way to explaining the natural phenomenon of attraction through closeness and familiarisation. But, for the avoidance of doubt, ‘Propinquity-plus’ is what I refer to.

Becoming very familiar with people and things just by being with them or gazing at them is a very common and natural human process. It is probably connected with the way in which we bond with our spouse and children – particularly through eye contact. Of course it can go the other way, (supported by the sayin “familiarity breeds contempt”) but generally the more you gaze, the greater the bond.

And in reality, it may be a person, a car, a house or something on the internet you fall in love with but the more familiar you become with it, the more you want it. Of course, once you’ve got it, that’s not the end of the story either!

Without question, it doesn't always have a happy conclusion and, whether it's a person or an object, if you can't have it the effects are painful, particularly if you allow yourself to become obsessed.

One of the first pictures I ever painted was of a sailing ship called 'The Thermopylae'. It was a Tea Clipper, and sister ship to 'The Cutty Sark'.

I really liked the look of it when I first spotted it in a book that I bought for 50p in a charity shop in Stafford. However, by the time I had been painting it for about fifty hours, it had become much more than that to me. I remember getting up in the middle of the night (to the call of nature) but then being drawn to ‘Thermopylae’ - receiving a satisfying ‘fix’.

Through staring at it for so long, I had grown to love it and found myself reading everything I could find out about it – its history and even studying a vector diagram of its rigging - how stresses and tensions were handled and what each pulley block did. I was obsessed. I was a true victim of Propinquity-plus that had unquestionably kicked in - altering my mind.

I was amazed when I discovered how it had challenged 'The Cutty Sark' to a race from Foo Chow harbour in China to London – and how it had come home just twenty minutes ahead of its rival! (so close they called it a dead heat).

Sadly, I also discovered that it had been sold to the Portuguese navy as a training ship, and afterwards towed out to deep waters and scuttled with full military honours. Honestly, I was so upset about this blessed ship! And to think I'd not even heard of it before I found that little picture and decided to paint it. It had become 'my Thermopylae'. 

In 2024 I holidayed in Portugal and paid spiritual homage to its memory.

Neuroplasticity

Neuroplasticity, also known as neural plasticity, is the ability of neural networks in the brain to change through growth and reorganisation. It is when the brain is rewired to function in some way that differs from how it previously functioned.

There is a saying (attributed to Hebb) that "cells that fire together, wire together"and more formally, "any two cells or systems of cells that are repetitively active at the same time will tend to become 'associated', so that activity in one facilitates activity in the other".

To simplify, we might be more likely to say that minds, and opinions, change depending on input.

I am sure you were already aware that brains can be conditioned and moulded, and that – through ‘propinquity- plus’ we can become not only familiar with people and things but grow to like or love them - or at least respect them. And, because of neuroplasticity, this will ensure that our understanding/opinion is altered accordingly.

Without question this is especially true of art - you may well be more familiar with the face of Mona Lisa than some of your own relatives!

     People, like me, who lived through the sixties and experienced what it was like to fall victims to the spell of The Beatles phenomenon, will understand what it was like to hear musical sounds for the first time, digest them, and allow them to ruminate for a few days before fully appreciating this new colour that had suddenly appeared in the test tube.

Each time a new album was released it repeated the same slow-burn qualities of the previous one; everyone said "oh no, they've gone too far this time". Then, once the propinquity- plus effect had kicked in, you couldn't get enough of it. And you could only wonder just how this journey from disappointment to celebration had taken place inside your head.

Major factors other than creativity that can feature in the equation around new work are shock, hyperbole, marketing, reputation and contextual presentation. Either singly or combined, they can significantly boost the chances of success for the individual artist.

The element of surprise or anticipation can also capture interest and intrigue, potentially drawing more attention from the audience and the art community.

Fact - Just as landscapes are altered by the passing of time, so is the face of art altered by the prevailing exposure to persuasion, mystery and propinquity-plus.

Fact - Many elements, other than the quality of the work itself, can play a large part in determining the success or failure of a work of art, (often to the great resentment or even disgust of many).

End of chapter 3