BEYOND YESTERDAY

Beyond Yesterday Oil on linen 80 x 55 cm 2014

 

 

THROUGH THE COSMOS

 

In my last post Lightning I promised some more details about my experience attending the series of events Through The Cosmos, a fabulous few days of concerts and presentations 6-9 November here in Brisbane at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre [QPAC]. Journey Through The Cosmos was a collaboration of science and art/music hosted by the Queensland Symphony Orchestra [QSO]. The Queensland Government's Super Stars Fund brought famous physicist Prof Brian Cox to the collaboration, along with violinist Jack Leibeck, Prof Brian Foster and composer Dario Marianelli.

 

After writing my last post I attended two more events - Composing For Hollywood, a truly fascinating discussion with composer Dario Marianelli, and a performance/lecture with Brian Cox called The Physics of Time. The inspiring lecture was followed by a performance Quartet for the End of Time written by Messiaen when he was a prisoner in a World War II concentration camp. Messiaen composed the work for himself and three other prisoners who all played musical instruments. The performance I saw/heard included violinist Jack Liebeck, pianist Zubin Kanga, cellist Li Wei Qin and clarinettist Paul Dean.

 

COMPOSING FOR HOLLYWOOD

The discussion with Dario Marianelli and author, composer, musicologist Stephen Johnson really highlighted the complexities of movie production. Whilst Marianelli spoke mainly about his life, composing, performing, recording music for films, it was evident that the interconnectedness of every aspect of production is highly complex with each bit requiring excellence. It was fascinating to hear a man talk about his career with such passion. Johnson was a great person to have as the fellow conversationalist. Marianelli was commissioned by the QSO to compose a piece for Journey Through The Cosmos. His Voyager violin concerto, inspired by spacecraft Voyafer 1 and II, was performed by the QSO, with violinist Jack Leibeck, at the Journey Through The Cosmos concerts.

 

THE PHYSICS OF TIME

The Physics Of Time lecture was delivered by Brian Cox with his trademark conversational style. He explained Einstein's Theory of General Relativity, quantum physics, spoke a bit about time travel, cosmic time, the beginning and end of the Universe, the large Hadron Collider at Cern. He also mentioned a fractal tree of universes [see my previous post Universes and Trees] in the context that our Universe may be just one in a Multiverse characterised by an infinite number of simultaneously occurring Big Bangs. He ended the lecture with a quote:

For small creatures such as we, the vastness is bearable only through love......Carl Sagan.

 

AND!!! Below is a photo of me with Brian Cox, taken after the Journey Through The Cosmos concert!

 

 

 

Photo Kathryn Brimblecombe-Fox and Prof Brian Cox courtesy Queensland Symphony Orchestra

 

 

 

Now to my new painting Beyond Yesterday [above]

Regular readers will know that I have been interested in the idea of a Multiverse for some time. Please see my earlier 2010 painting simply called Multiverse [below]. So, what was I thinking when I painted Beyond Yesterday, which I had started before going to Journey Through The Cosmos?

 

I wanted to create a cosmic-like landscape ie: an ambiguous one...where the viewer has some trouble orienting him/herself. The background colour [see detail photo below] is textured, as if there is another 'scape' behind the one on the surface, where there are 'landscape'-like contours and perhaps a hazy horizon. Yet the background colour and texture is a constant, suggesting a much larger essence, perhaps the 'reality' that an horizon-less existence is possible? If our Universe exists in a Multiverse, that is characterised by ongoing simultaneous Big Bangs, then our Universal horizon is merely the end point of our Universe, but not of cosmological existence. The red ball, painted like a 'scape' is perhaps another Universe? It shares the same background colour and texture with the other 'landscape', yet it seems to both recede into the distance at the same time as appearing to be propelled forward out of the painting.

 

Beyond Yesterday, as regular readers will identify, is another of my 'landscapes' that attempt to untether notions of landscape from Earth-bound horizons.

 

 

DETAIL Beyond Yesterday Oil on linen 80 x 55 cm 2014

 

 

WHY THE TITLE BEYOND YESTERDAY?

Well, to me at least, it does not immediately suggest a single trajectory of time and existence. 'Beyond yesterday' could mean back into the past, but equally moving into the future, it could be simply an ever present NOW or it could mean some other dimension.

 

Light that we see, or detect, from space comes from a long ago 'yesterday', yet we 'see' it in the present and can deduce things that will or might happen in the future. 'Yesterday' is in some kind of perpetual 'beyond-ness'.

 

AND, then think about all those other potential Universes being created by simultaneous Big Bangs. If we think of time in a Multiverse something seemingly nonsensical as Beyond Yesterday helps us lose grip on the 'safety net', or perhaps 'shackle' of TIME [as we think we perceive it]. 

 

 

 

 Multiverse Oil on linen 80 x 100 cm 2010

 

 

 

OOO [Object Oriented Ontology] SYMPOSIUM 

 

 

 

 

My proposal for a paper/presentation was accepted and I am one of the speakers at:

Seeing Things: OOO Symposium For Creative Researchers

 

Queensland University of Technology, Kelvin Grove, Queensland, Australia.

Thursday 20 November 8.30am  - 4.30 am

 

My topic is:

Cosmic Perspectives

 

 

Cheers,

Kathryn

www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com

 



BIRTH OF LANDSCAPE

Birth Of Landscape Oil on linen 138 x 168 cm 2014

 

Birth of Landscape continues my attempt to untether landscape from Earth-bound horizons. I am so serious about my quest that I am calling my next solo Untethering Landscape. I have made a separate page for the exhibition which you can view by clicking HERE

 

My idea for Birth Of Landscape [above] was to somehow capture a sense of landscape being born from the Big Bang. Yes! After all, without the Big Bang there would be no landscape...yet let's think about this...maybe there would be landscape...but without conscious and curious awareness by beings such as ourselves, would landscape 'exist'? There may be other curious and perceptive beings like ourselves 'out there', but whilst it's a tantalising thought, we have not met them yet! So, until such a time, let's explore landscape, let's rethink what it might be, let's expand our horizons beyond Earth into our Universal [and maybe Multiversal] environment.

 

Why?

 

Why? Scientific research is expanding our knowledge of the Universe, from the quantum to the vast, at an amazing pace. The 21st century is truly the cosmological age...cosmology being the scientific study of the Universe. The fascinating thing is that cosmology is a multidisciplinary field that crosses broad areas of science...and philosophy. Big questions about life, past, present and future are being asked. And...our relationship with our environment is an important part of the investigatory process.

 

 

SOME THOUGHTS AND OBSERVATIONS

 

Dr Michio Kaku

On Thursday night I attended the most wonderful presentation by theoretical physicist and futurist Dr. Michio Kaku. The packed audience loved it too. I went alone...and strangely did not run into anyone I know. Now, this is somewhat unusual in Brisbane, particularly when there is a massive attendance at an event, like there was on Thursday night. It was like....after dark the geeks come out to play! I absolutely loved it.

 

Dr. Kaku spoke about a range of issues and explorations from artificial intelligence, downloading/mapping our minds, travelling into space via our downloaded minds on lazar beams, abilities to be able to re-insert memories in dementia patients, issues to do with potential insertion of false memories and legal/ethical implications, time travel and so much more.

 

For me, the overarching question, dilemma, excitement is a need to think about what it means to be human in the 21st century. And...for me...untethering landscape form Earth-bound horizons will help us ponder what it does mean to be human, because by releasing our vision and horizons we see new perspectives, not only of our planet, but also of ourselves.

 

 

 Detail Birth of Landscape Oil on linen

 

 

THREATS

I love being a generalist. I love it because it means you can pick up links between things, events, ideas.

 

Here we go!

 

Dr. Kaku suggested that the main threat to humanity's growth, and ascension from what he calls level 0 to level 1, will be tribalism, aggression and those elements that cause conflict and war. Interestingly, only days beforehand I had read an article in the Otago Daily Times by Prof Kevin Clements, Director of the National Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Otago, NZ. He is a wonderful and inspiring man. I know him...met him first when he worked at the University of Queensland. In his article Safety Possible Without Surveillance Prof Clements says, Our real security lies in the quality of the relationships we have with each other, rather than the security of our nation state. Whilst Prof Clements is writing about New Zealand's involvement in the 'Five Eyes' surveillance/security arrangement, the essence of his argument can be taken globally ie: the real threat to humanity [and the planet considering the range of bio/technological weapons available] is NOT getting on with each other!

 

Also, if you have time please watch this very recent panel discussion on the topic The Future Of Technology: Benefits and Risks . The event took place at MIT and was the launch of an exciting think tank Future of Life Institute . The panellists were Dr George Church (synthetic biology), Dr  Ting Wu (personal genetics), Dr  Andrew McAfee (second machine age, economic bounty and disparity), Dr Frank Wilczek (near-term AI and autonomous weapons) and Jaan Tallinn (long-term AI and singularity scenarios). One of the many things I took away from listening to the panel was that it's important that we get on with each other!

 

And, for another related perspective on the issue of what it is to be human in the 21st century, you might like to read An Economist's Guide To War And Peace by Steve Killelea, Executive Chairman of the Institute for Economics and Peace . Steve Killelea is an Australian, who sold his IT company before he launched into a life as a full-time advocate for peace. I have heard him speak, and his passion and energy are evident.

 

BIRTH OF LANDSCAPE

So, to the painting above! The background is fire and brimstone...the Big Bang. Superimposed onto this background is a 'landscape' in formation. As you can see the circular object is not complete...the background is evident between the forming 'landscape' elements. This circle could be planet, it could even be Earth, but it could also be symbolic of  smaller or even larger universal entities. The small tree, cradled within the forming 'landscape', represents....life...yes it is my much loved age-old transcultural/religious tree-of-life visualised for the 21st century ie: it has gone cosmic!

 

Cheers,

Kathryn

www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com

 

*****NEXT EHIBITION - Brisbane - September

UNTETHERING LANDSCAPE

FINGERPRINTS OF EXISTENCE

Fingerprints of Existence Oil on linen 36 x 36 cm

 

In this new painting Fingerprints of Existence I have tried to capture a sense of life from before time, after time...at no time...without time...but with a kind of knowing or maybe a pre-knowing.

 

So what triggered me?

• The recent discovery of what scientists think is the signature of gravitational waves from the BIG BANG. A discovery which apparently supports the theory of inflation and strengthens the proposition that we live in a Multiverse. If you want to know more start HERE with an article in Scientific American. OK...so these gravitational waves, in my mind at least, conjure thoughts about fingerprints and line-markings on our hands. So, they are like identifiers of some kind...an identifier of life? A marking of existence.

What made me think more?

• Repetition of patterns in nature and the Universe. Think of the tree! Yes, I am going to write about my much loved age-old transcultural/religious tree-of-life. I suggest the tree became such an important and persistent symbol because it is such a remarkable reminder of life systems. Now, I am not suggesting that this has always been at a conscious level. For example, the human vascular system was not really understood until William Harvey's research in the early 17th century. However, prior to this there was an understanding of some kind of system. The branching tree shape, I propose, has always stirred a kind of knowing, as if stirring a memory, one at the cellular level. As the centuries have flown by science and exploration have revealed so much about our planet, humanity, the plant and animal kingdoms, space and the universe. The tree-like pattern repeats itself in the revelations....it's like a universal fingerprint!

and...

• In the painting I imagine the tree trunk as holding the elements and conditions that existed just prior to the BIG BANG... just prior to the massive inflation that was the BANG. The tree cascades from the trunk, spreading its code for existence across the canvas ie: THE Universe/Multiverse.

The question that intrigues me...and I am sure others...is:

• What was before the BIG BANG...before the elements and conditions that propelled the BANG?

 

TREE OF LIFE

Regular readers will know of my intense interest in the age-old transcultural/religious tree-of-life. I employ its marvellous potency in many of my paintings. This potency is all about life! The more I explore its immense treasures the more I discover about myself and the world. It has not been an age-old symbol of life, 'speaking' to people across cultures and eons, without reason! It 'speaks' to us at all levels, across times, even outside time and space, within a Universal/Multiversal psyche and dimension! Maybe like a code teasing for attention...

 

LANDSCAPE

And to my need...desire...to untether landscape from Earth-bound horizons. Regular readers will also know of this interest. In a sense Fingerprints of Existence is a landscape of existence! Well, when you think about it, the BIG BANG was actually the precursor...the prequel to landscape...so it housed the elements that lead to landscape. And, when you look at your fingerprints, your palm, your cardiovascular system, your  neighbourhood water system and more...the branching shape of a tree unfolds revealing, what could be called, the template for landscape. It exists, quite rightly so too, inside us...maybe it is us?

 

Within an art historical context, the landscape genre has evolved over time. Sub-genres such as the urban landscape, the idyll, the sublime, bride in the landscape, traditional and modern, seascape, futurist, dystopian, environmental etc etc all carry elements of the human psyche and visually parlays humanity's understanding of its environment at particular times in history. With contemporary cosmological research revealing more and more about the Universe [if not the Multiverse] it's time to take landscape beyond Earth-bound horizons....because whilst Earth maybe our home, the Universe/multiverse is our environment. Metaphorically speaking the Universal/Multiversal perspective implores us to seek new dimensions within too.

 

A cosmic perspective of Earth begs questions of ownership of land...surely we are all custodians of the planet...manmade boundaries seem somewhat insignificant when viewed through a cosmic lens? At this point in time, we ie: humanity do not have an alternative home...Earth is it! Let's work together...can we do it? I suggest rethinking concepts of landscape, and how landscape is depicted, may help shift human perspectives on a multitude of things...

 

SOME POSTS - UNTETHERED LANDSCAPE

Untethered Landscape

Other Worlds Ahoy!

The Value of Landscape 

 

 

NEWS

And, talking about landscape, ownership of land, human perspectives...I recently attended the opening of a very interesting and thought provoking exhibition Conflict: Contemporary Responses to War at the University of Queensland Art Museum. Indeed, conflict and war are, more often than not, about land, boundaries and what riches the land may hold. But, again a cosmic perspective proffers a very clear picture of the futility of war. I am going to return to the exhibition to have a closer look at the work of around 50 artists in the show.

 

I really enjoyed chatting to one of the artists Fatima Killeen, a Moroccan born Canberra based artist. Her work resonated with a deep sense of intelligence and heart. She has three colour collographs in the exhibition. They do not scream for attention, but when you look at them you are drawn in and captivated by, not only the literal layers of her technique, but also multiple layers of meaning.

TRAVELS
In case you missed my post about my recent travels abroad please click HERE

Very cold day in Budapest

Cheers,
Kathryn
www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com

 

 

 

COSMOLOGY, BIG BANG AND THE MULTIVERSE

Where? Oil on linen 50 x 50 cm 2013

 

 

GRAVITATIONAL WAVES

In the last couple of days big news has hit the media. Big news about the BIG BANG! Scientists have detected evidence of the signature of gravitational waves generated in the nano-seconds after the BIG BANG. These waves support the theory of cosmological inflation. They also give strength to the theory that we do not exist in a Universe, but a Multiverse!

 

Here are a couple of articles about this momentous discovery for you to read:

• On Smithsonian.com A New Cosmic Discovery Could Be The Closest We've Come To The Beginning Of Time by Joseph Stromberg
• At Scientific American BICEP2 Makes Waves In Cosmology: Now What? by Max Tegmark

And here's a link to a video showing the reaction of the physicist Andrei Linde, who first came up with the theory of the inflationary Universe, when he was told that recent data and observation confirmed his theory as likely. Physicist Rejoices As He Learns His Big Bang Theory Is Correct

 

 

COSMOLOGY, BIG BANG AND THE MULTIVERSE

In light of this recent announcement I thought I'd 'curate' an online exhibition of some of my paintings that have been inspired by cosmology, the BIG BANG and particularly ideas of a Multiverse:

 

I first uploaded  Where? [above] in a post titled Looking In The Rear Vision Mirror - Cosmically Speaking In this post I wrote about the rear vision mirror metaphorically as, 'The rear vision mirror presents us with the fascinating potential for keeping an eye on the past, as we live in the present and look to the future.' I also wrote,  'Where? implies a question about a physical position, but it can also ask about a position in time. The image could be the birth of the Universe, as if seen in a rear vision mirror, which is kind of what happens when cosmologists and astronomers examine images of newly discovered cosmic entities. Light reaching us now started its journey eons ago; the past licks at our heels, and sends light and shadows into the future. But, if we don't look out the windows or look into the rear vision mirror we might miss the light and be caught in the shadows.'

 

 

The Universe Draws You Out Like A Multidimensional Horizon
Oil on linen 50 x 50 cm 2014

 

 

The Universe Draws You Out Like A Multidimensional Horizon [above] was inspired by many things but also Australian author Tim Winton's marvellous speech at the Royal Academy in London, November 2013. In my previous post about this painting I wrote, 'So...yes...perspective invites us to also consider horizons, both literal and metaphoric. Indeed, contemporary cosmological research is pushing our horizons in all directions. For example, the Universe maybe a Multiverse...now that's a huge shift in horizon don't you think!'

 

After the release of the discovery of the signature for gravitational waves generated at the BIG BANG I'd say horizons have dramatically shifted. In fact, are there any really?

Dizzying Perspective Oil on linen 50 x 50 cm 2014

 

 

In my earlier post for Dizzying Perspective [above] I wrote, 'Dizzying Perspective is similar to an earlier painting which I called Where? This painting asks questions too, indeed its title is a question. It asks about time and space. Both paintings, I sense, move beyond their physical limits of size ie: 50 x 50 cm. There is something quite satisfying about painting an image of Universal vastness on a 50 x 50 cm canvas! A bit like the size differential of Dr. Who's marvellous Tardis.'

 

Surrendering Horizon Oil on linen 100 x 150 cm 2014

 

In Surrendering Horizon I have...surrendered the horizon! What does this mean? In my earlier post for Surrendering Horizon I wrote, 'In Surrendering Horizon I have 'torn' the horizon line away from the landscape. It now seems to draw the landscape towards new perspectives, as it enjoys relinquishing its tethered state. It almost playfully entices the landscape to reach out, and in this process, lifts its 'eyes' towards Universal [possibly even Multiversal] distance.'

Multiverse Oil on linen 80 x 100 cm 2011

Now to my painting actually called Multiverse. I was so inspired by the idea of a Multiverse, that I had to paint the image that sprang into my head. I first read about the idea in Astrophysicist/Royal Astronomer Lord Martin Rees's fascinating book Just Six Numbers. I wrote this in my earlier post, 'The image that sprang to my mind is a tree with small portal-like 'windows' or 'eyes' dotted amongst the branches, each created by a kind of swirling or vortex action. These portals are more obvious from a distance, because they interrupt the pattern of the tree. Up close, they are still visible, but the interruption to the pattern is not as obvious. I suppose it is a bit like seeing a peacock proudly unfold its plumage, compared with looking at only one feather. The magnificence of the fanned plumage is breathtaking and patterns are discernible, yet one feather, still beautiful, only whispers.'

And here's a link to another Multiverse post called Multiverse Possibilities

The Beginning of Everything Oil on linen 90 x 180cm 2010

 

 

And, now to EVERYTHING! Yes, EVERYTHING. My painting The Beginning of Everything certainly took some persistence to paint, as you can see from the detailed line work. In my earlier post I wrote, 'I had this idea that I wanted to paint an mage which 'spoke' about the beginning, those nano seconds after the Big Bang. What would the 'landscape' be like? I wanted to paint an image which gave an impression of those nano instances, but also the presence of whatever it is/was that set it ALL in motion.'

 

I think The Beginning of Everything is a multifaceted painting! It gives an impression of expansion, inflation...waves even! I am very fond of this painting.

 

And...now to a Landscape Of Everything

 

 

Landscape of Everything Oil on linen 80 x 140 cm 2013

 

In Landscape of Everything I imagined lots of things...well one could suggest 'everything'...including that the coloured balls are each a Universe! So the painting is another inspired by ideas of a Multiverse.

 

 

Other Worlds Ahoy! Oil on linen 80 x 90 cm 2013

 

In my previous post I wrote, 'Other Worlds, Ahoy! also continues my thoughts on untethering notions of landscape from being Earth-bound. In an age where cosmological research is discovering more and more about the close and far distances of the Universe, even suggesting a Multiverse, I believe we have a great opportunity to re-interpret 'landscape' with new perspectives. And...that this may provide new insights for all kinds of sustainability and even new ways of being.

With Other Worlds, Ahoy! a dominant landscape provides an horizon, yet is the viewer in this landscape or hovering above it? Is it Earth? Other planets...even Universes...worlds...hover too. Is the viewer on another of these? Or is the viewer in some kind of spacecraft madly negotiating a safe pathway to another Earth-like planet, a new 'home'? '

 

 

I hope you have enjoyed COSMOLOGY, BIG BANG AND THE MULITVERSE

 

I am not a scientist and I am not a science illustrator. However, I am very interested in harnessing science in a way that communicates awe, wonder and imagination. I attempt to link this within an art historical framework eg: discussing notions of landscape.

 

Cheers,

Kathryn

www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com

 

 

COMPLEXITY

Into The Symphony Oil on linen 120 x 160 cm 2008

COMPLEXITY AND BIG HISTORY
Over the last week I have attended two events that have made me think again about complexity. The first event was a lecture given by Prof David Christian. The title of the lecture was 'Is There Progress In The History Of The Universe?' It was the plenary session for a conference 'Perspectives in Progress' at the University of Queensland.

Prof Christian, from Australia's Macquarie University, is the Director of the Big History Institute. If you're wondering what Big History is please visit the Institute's webpage HERE and the Big History Project page HERE. Big History is enthusiastically supported by Bill Gates. Make sure you click on 'Learn More'...this takes you to a page where you can listen to and watch Prof Christian speak.

Here's a quote from the Big History Institute's introduction to the question What is Big History?

Big History is the attempt to understand, in a unified and interdisciplinary way, the history of the Cosmos, Earth, Life and Humanity. Big History is ambitious - it seeks understanding by bringing together and linking the knowledge available in many different scholarly disciplines.

To continue please visit the Big History Institute's webpage:

 

BIG LANDSCAPE
Upon reading the quote above, regular readers will need no explanation for my enthusiasm for Big History! Big History is like a 'Big Landscape'...and as regular readers know I am keen to untether notions of 'landscape' from Earth-bound horizons, so we can see, experience and benefit from its full and cosmic potential! Big History takes perspective seriously! I read about it a few years ago and have been following it on various forums ever since...even recommending its program to my children's school. Happily it is now one of Big History's pilot schools.

Untethered Landscape Oil on linen 50 x 50 cm 2013

 

But back to complexity: Prof Christian suggested that the progress of the Universe is one of increasing complexity. From just after the Big Bang when two basic chemicals existed ie: hydrogen and helium, pockets of 'Goldilocks' conditions have enabled the Universe to progress towards more and more complex 'life'. The formation of stars, planets, galaxies are outcomes of these pockets of 'Goldilocks' conditions. On planet Earth the appearance and evolution of organic life, of all kinds, is the result of just-the-right conditions. How lucky is that?! How lucky are we?! I am reminded of cosmologist, astrophysicist and Astronomer Royal, Lord Martin Rees's similar message in his fascinating book 'Just Six Numbers'.

THE SOUND OF MUSIC
The second event that made me think of complexity was only last night. I attended a performance of 'L'Enfance Du Christ' at St Andrews Uniting Church in Brisbane's CBD. The performance involved two main groups, the Brisbane Concert Choir at St Andrews and the Sinfonia of Saint Andrews. The Musical Director was Debra Shearer-Dirie.

The performance was marvellous and so deceptively simple...yep the perfect kind of complexity! The nearly two hour performance embraced the interior of the church, enfolding the audience in a story- telling that took you to the stars and beyond. There were no major theatrics and there was no technological augmentation of light or sound. In fact, no microphones. The choir, the soloists and the musicians certainly did not need any augmentation. The audience received purity and beauty in the mastery, genius and talent of the performers... and let's not forget the score and lyrics. I am not a musician and I cannot sing very well, but there's something very special about the human voice in choir...a community of voices stroking your heart as they couple with each other and with the sounds of the orchestra, creating miracles of consecutive 'pivotal moments' that transport everyone. In a way, when you experience something like this, it's akin to experiencing the history of the Universe in metaphor...and in just two hours!

Prof Christian suggested that with complexity comes an inherent vulnerability and fragility. As if exponential growth/progress reaches a point where breakdown occurs, thus sparking something that maybe quite different. I am reminded of the music I heard last night...I suspect music has a capacity to prophesise this very set of circumstances...I also think it holds clues to ways of working with circumstances of all kinds. And, this is what all good music, performance and art can achieve...an experience of exponential emotion and complexity that exposes vulnerability, before being released in the 'colour' of contrast, nuance and rhythm. Sounds simple...but fortunately it's not!

OTHER NEWS
I had a delivery of new stretched linen stretchers today and so I can get back into paintings. I'd run out of them and whilst I have made some attempts with gouache on paper, I am so very keen to return to my oil paints!

Cheers,
Kathryn
www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com

 

RETURNING

Returning Oil on linen 50 x 92 cm

 

Returning? Returning from where, from whom?

 

I often think about the presence of the future in the past. Sounds non-sensical in some ways! But, I've had experiences which, with hindsight, have heralded the future. However, it has only been with hindsight that I have the Ah Ha moment of realisation. In a sense, hindsight is a return to a moment in the past...realising that the past can 'return' to the future.

 

The concept of return or returning, is probably more apparent in the saying history repeats itself. Now this can be not so bad or it can be dreadful, particularly in the case of war. Whilst the weapons and tactics of war might have changed, the underlying human instigations perhaps have not? Why do we resort to war and conflict over and over again?

 

When we gaze out into Space we are seeing light, emitted from stars, that has travelled billions of year to get to us. This light is the past being witnessed in its future. In my mind we 'return' to the past, to those moments just after the Big Bang, when we see the stars. It makes me tingle with awe.

 

There is also the story of Adam and Eve, who upon expulsion from the Garden of Eden, are aware that a return to Eden is possible and something to strive for. Adam and Eve, representing humanity, are sent forth to experience the space between antimonies, that space created with the injection of 'evil' into the equation. 'Good' now had a companion, albeit a recalcitrant one. With humanity experiencing life, in this space between antimonies, it was given an opportunity to understand who it is not, thus making it possible to discover who it actually is. The repetition of war and conflict suggests we have a few more lessons to learn!

 

Now to my new painting above called Returning. The cascade of arced trees rustles with light, reflecting that emitted by the blood red moons. Interpsersed amongst the colourful branches of the trees are various dots, including red ones. These seem to whisper to the moons, echoing time seemingly passed and time heralded from the future. Yes, regular readers will identify the trees as my much loved age-old trancsultural/religious trees of life. This symbolic reference to life embraces its entirety, from pre-human [even pre-Earth] to that which exists in a post-human future, that may witness through implosion [or other forces] both a death and rebirth of the Universe. In a sense...the ultimate RETURNING.

 

I have used the word returning as the title rather than something like The Return, because the latter is finite, a once off, whereas returning suggests a constancy and an eternity.

 

Here are some links to other posts where I discuss concepts of returning:

Collective Memory

Perpetual Beginning

Body As Site

Past Present Future

 

MY BOOK AND CHRISTMAS

 

I have some copies of my book For Everyone and it would be a fantastic Christmas present! So if you want one or even more let me know, via comment [which I won't publish] and I will get back to you. Or you can contact me HERE

 

AND MORE CHRISTMAS

 

I have made two new 'galleries' on my website, in preparation for Christmas. If you are after present ideas, for Christmas, or any other celebration, please check out:

 

Oil Paintings Under $1000

Works On Paper Under $1000 

 

Cheers,

Kathryn

 

 

 

 

ETERNITY'S BREATH

Eternity's Breath  oil on linen 85 x 150 cm

This new painting above relates to a recent small work on paper called All of Us [below]. Please read my previous post HERE

In All of Us the 'shadow' of the tree represents variously, all history, geneology, human race evolution. The trees in Eternity's Breath also represent variously, all history, geneology, human race evolution, but they also 'speak' of the viscera of existence encompassing all physicality, emotionality spirituality...eternity. The trees evoke the appearance of lungs and the rythmic movement of breath...inhale and exhale, inhale and exhale.

After attending Prof Paul Davies Brisscience lecture a few weeks ago I have been imagining the expanding universe reaching a point where dissipating energy no longer propels spatial or temporal extension. The universe then starts to recede until a state of mammoth spatial and temporal compression causes another Big Bang, and time and space are flung into creation again. This ongoing expansion and contraction is the inhale and exhale of universal breath. 

Regular readers will identify the use of my much loved age-old transcultural/religious tree-of-life symbol. The trees in Eternity's Breath create a 'scape' which is both vast and intimate. The trees' branches mirror the capillaries of flesh and blood lungs, at the same time as evoking the 'vascular-like' energy of universal cosmic breath. The figures, humankind, seem to stand at an edge...a precipice...maybe at the point of the exchange between exhale-inhale-exhale. This precipice poses the questions: Why are we here? If we are part of the exhaling universe, what fate lies for us when it inhales?

The oval shapes, full of colour, suggest portals...possibilities...gateways. The 'shadow' tree behind the two figures disappears into one of these colourful portals creating a tension...like waiting for a baby's first breath... or for a dying person's last one.

And, of course trees literally provide oxygen for us, and our fellow animals, to breath. And... we emit carbon dioxide, which trees and plants, use in their 'breathing' process of photosynthesis.

The tree!

All of Us gouache on paper 15 x 21 cm

As I have previously written I am interested in investigating and revealing the potency of the tree-of-life, to find what its symbolism might mean to us in the 21st century. Yes, it has historical significance, but age-old symbols need to be untethered from past historical visual representations to give life to their ageless wisdom. It is up to us to release the tether and journey with these symbols as they weave their way around, and into, contemporary issues and life. I believe the tree-of-life holds potent meaning for us in the 21st century as we grapple with, and are excited by, the ever increasing close and far distances of cosmological research and discovery. I 'see' the tree branching out, and rooting into, the spaces and distances of the quantum and cosmic worlds, meeting us with meaningful ways to understand...and envisage even more...philosophically, scientifically, creatively and spiritually.

Below are two other paintings which 'speak' of breath.

 Breathing Across Time Oil on linen 50 x 94 cm

Breath Gouache on paper 30 x 42 cm paper size 52 x 63 cm framed

NEWS

• Tattersall's Landscape Art Award: I have again been invited to participate in this award and exhibition. The prize money is $25,000. The award will be announced Wednesday 5th September. The exhibition will be on display at Brisbane's Tattersall's Club until September 8, after which it is moved to Waterfront Place, 1 eagel St, Brisbane from 10-21 September.
• Also, my entry into the Santos Acquisitive Art Prize in Roma has been selected as a finalist. Entries had to reflect upon the 'benefits of La Nina- the abundance that follows rain'. As regular readers know, rain and water, have been important themes in my work for a long time. The prize is announced 31 August.
• AND the painting below Cosmic Frisson has been purchased for the new Gold Coast Hospital!

Cosmic Frisson oil on linen 90 x 180 cm

Cheers,

Kathryn

www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com



THE ORIGIN AND THE END

                                On The Edge Gouache on paper 34.5 x 53.5 cm 200

Last week I attended a BrisScience lecture. Here's their website where you can read more about BrisScience. The lecture 'The Origin and The End Of The Universe' was given by well kown theoretical physicist, cosmologist, astrobiologist, author and broadcaster Prof Paul Davies. It was an incredibly interesting evening. The hour flashed by as Prof Davies took us on a journey across the billions of years since the Big Bang, and the billions of years till the Big Rip or whatever BIG thing it will be that will see the demise of this Universe, and possibly the birth of a new one. Who knows! But, it was great fun to think and imagine as he talked, postulated, imagined, and presented current research.

The Long Room at Brisbane's Customs House was packed with standing room only. Such is the drawing power of Prof Davies.


Regular readers will know excactly why I attended the lecture. Yes, a fascination with the amazing perspectives cosmolgy provides. It can be daunting though. These both vast and intimate perspectives certainly place humanity and Earth, way out of and beyond, the centre of the Universe! Indeed where is the centre? Is there one? These perspectives tell us that we are relatively new to life in expanding space, and that our home, planet Earth, is destined for destruction in the prolonged death throes of our dying sun. Yet, the universe seems destined to death as well, but in death it may bring forth another universe...and life, of some kind, goes on?

                                                 All Of Us Gouache on paper 15 x 21 cm

I am working on a new oil painting based on the small work on paper I wrote about in my last post All Of Us  [above] This small gouache painting 'talks' about history; past, present and future. Yet, as I have written before, if we are part of the 'cosmic dust' that somehow coalesced into the human form, a relatively short time ago in cosmic terms, then this 'dust' perhaps holds a kind of memory of the non human pre-existence. Do we somehow carry remnants of the nano-seconds after the Big Bang...like presumably everything else in the universe? Will this 'dust' survive the universe's entropic death to be released in the birth of a new one, ultimately creating another humankind...or not? In the state of foreverness, which I suspect is not about time or place, are we just a blip? These questions are humbling, but also exciting.

I will upload the new painting when it is finished, which should be fairly soon.

Cosmic Dust Oil on linen 120 x 160 cm

INTERESTING

My Dad sent me this TED link. A colour blind young man who, with the assistance of technology, can hear colour. http://on.ted.com/Harbisson

I have nearly finished reading Dr. George Blair-West's fascinating book 'The Way Of The Quest'. I so look forward to reading a few chapters before going to sleep. Each chapter has gems of thought provoking elements.

And this is such a refreshing story: Remembering Herbert Vogel, The Postman Who Amassed One of America's Greatest Art Collections


Cheers,
Kathryn
www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com
http://www.youtube.com/user/kabrimblecombe/videos

BEAUTY-HAS NO ANTONYM?

Tomorrow night I am giving a guest formal dinner speech at Women's College, the University of Queensland residential college I attended many moons ago. I have chosen the topic of BEAUTY.

Regular readers will know I have written about beauty many times before [a couple of links are below]. Hopefully, the words will flow forth easily tomorrow night! My mother always says, write about what you know. I think the same goes for public speaking, and many creative pursuits. I may not know all about beauty, but it has been a focus of my thoughts for a long time.

                                          The Beauty Of Oil on linen 36 x 36 cm 2011

So, I have previously written about beauty's capacity as a portal, as a catalyst for hope [and therefore having political agency], as a reminder of what we loose if we don't look after ourselves and the planet. I have also explained my belief that beauty conscously elides ugliness, and in doing so, acknowledges it, and then relinquishes it to a presence in absentia. This conscious elision means beauty cannot be labeled as ignorant. It does mean, however, that an underlying pathos exists giving beauty a fulsome and mature dimensionality which contrasts with, and renders impotent, the vacuuousness of prettiness. Prettiness survives in the world of fashion, a mono dimensioned world which slips and slides across our everyday lives in the mass media.

But, to my title for this post. BEAUTY- HAS NO ANTONYM?

As I have been preparing for my speech, I suddenly had a light bulb moment. Many people might think ugliness is the opposite of beauty. But, for me, pretty is the opposite of ugly. My thinking is that if beauty does consciously elide ugliness and it exists in absentia, then how can ugliness be an antonym? An existence in absentia, is not the same as a shadow nagging to be acknowledged, because, as I wrote above, I believe beauty does consciously acknowledge ugliness in the process of elision. It is not ignored...it's just not given any more attention and due to acknowledgement it does not demand it from beauty. Is beauty an example of non-duality, a unified concept?

                                   The Beginning Of Everything Oil on linen 90 x 180 cm

Was beauty present at the instant life began, at the Big Bang or whatever it was that set everything in motion? I suspect it was. And, this Beauty now exists as some kind of human race memory, maybe deeply buried in our DNA code. Maybe that's why we sometimes have Ah Ha moments, that stir our inner core reminding us of something, often propelling us onto new thoughts and actions, but always providing us with joy and hope.

Gate Oil on linen 100 x 100 cm 2011

Previous BEAUTY posts:

 

Beauty Gives Hope A Chance

 

Beauty As A Portal

 

 

 

QUIVER

My forthcoming exhibition of new work

17-29 April

Graydon Gallery

Merthyr Rd, New Farm, Brisbane

Gate [above] will be in the exhibition. The Beauty Of is already sold! And, The Beginning Of Everything was in my last solo exhibition and was also a finalist in the invitation only Tattersall's Landscape Art Award 2011. After QUIVER'S opening night I am planning to bring in some other paintings, to have a kind of...stock room...where people can discover. It is actually really frustrating that older paintings are often only exhbited once or twice...hardly gives a chance for people to see them, let alone decide to buy them! 

NEWS

I discovered another blogger who likes my work. And, I like his too. You might like to check out John Simpson's unfolding story 

The Propagational Library  

Cheers,

Kathryn

www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com

THE BEGINNING OF EVERYTHING

                         The Beginning Of Everything: Remembering Distance Oil on linen 90 x 180 cm 2010

I have been working on this new painting for weeks, full days and into the nights. After looking at this painting, viewers could think I was a little obsessive! Well, that might be the case with this painting! It just kept propelling me and I now feel somewhat lost. This feeling will go, when I start the next painting, which is already percolating in my mind.

The Beginning Of Everything ....where do I start!! Funny question when you think of the title! But, that's just it...the title and the painting pose more questions than answers...not that I think art necessarily does, or should, even try to answer anything. If it had the answers, I think, art would truly be dead.

Perspectives

I had this idea that I wanted to paint an mage which 'spoke' about the beginning, those nano seconds after the Big Bang. What would 'landscape' be like? I wanted to paint an image which gave an impression of those nano instances, but also the presence of whatever it is/was that set it ALL in motion. Coupled with those post-Big Bang nano instances I wanted to paint an image which could be 'read' as that intimate nano-second when each human life begins. Regular readers will know that my interest in the connection between close and far distance, the intimate and vast, the micro and macro, drives my search for a way to open multiple perspectives.

Tree-of-Life

In this painting, I have used my much loved transcultural/religious tree-of-life motif which cuts its capillary-like branches across the 'landscape' ...from the Universe of outer space and the 'universe' within the womb, to the 'universe' of human psyche. The tree's branches weave their way across the space, which can seem to both inside and outside something...vast and/or intmate. I wanted to give a sense that perhaps we, the viewers, are witnessing something from the edge of a 'happening'...that we are both witnesses and participants.  I wanted to give a sense that the image contained more than it revealed. 

Childhood Landscape

The vastness of my childhood landscape on my parent's farm outside Dalby on the Darling Downs, has influenced my interest in the 'play' between the vast and intimate. Indeed, the vastness meant that one could be both witness and participant, because multiple distances could be seen and felt simultaneously. The relentless blue skies of the daytime turned into the twinkling sheath of the Milky Way at night. The Bunya Mountains, cutting a majestic silhouette in the east, contrasted with the flat treeless horizon in the west. In between this distance there was space to notice the minutiae of life. Things such as the snaking cracks in the black soil, which miraculously closed up when rain turned the soil into thick mud. Things such as grains of wheat scattered on the side of the road, the creeping tendrils of prickle plants, drops of water on leaves, little whirly winds which picked up dust, feathers, seeds.

I remember, as a child, lying on my back on a thick patch of green clover [before the prickle bindis formed] gazing up at the sky. The clover was like a lush bed and the sky seemed full of energy. As a child I remember my grandmother, who lived in town, taking me and my brothers outside her house, at night, to gaze at the stars. My grandmother knew all the constellations and tried to teach us to identify them. She brought the galaxy closer to us with her knowledge. In a sense she gave us the experience of being witness and participant in the 'beginning of everything'.

Visitors from Overseas
My parents, over the years, hosted a number of visitors from foreign countries [India, Germany, UK, Malaysia, New Guinea] and many of these visitors had trouble coping with the vastness of the flat naturally treeless plain landscape of my childhood. The distance frightened them. Even friends of mine from the city had issues with the vastness. I sensed they felt 'on edge'... literally on the edge of something which went beyond just physical experience.

Back to the painting! The larger section on the top right, still depicting the tree, gives a sense of space...both within and without. The red tinged appearance is a deliberate reference to the doppler effect, suggesting that what we see is receding, and thus expanding, at speed away from us. Yet, the blue tinge suggests a movement towards us. The round 'hole' references many things, including but not limited to...black holes, the possibility of other Universes, the stillness at the vortex core, atoms, birth canals, an eye [with all its symbolic meanings], veins...the moon of my childhood memories gazing at the night sky with my grandmother.

Whilst my childhood memories and wonderments have inspired this painting, some of the extra [or coupling] inspirations came from a book I have mentioned before...a fascinating book called 'Just Six Numbers: The Deep Forces That Shape the Universe' by Martin Rees [Basic Books, 2000] Martin Rees is Professor of Cosmology and Astrophysics, and Master of Trinity College at the University of Cambridge. He also holds the honorary title of Astronomer Royal and Visiting Professor at Imperial College London and at Leicester University.

WATER
Please check out some of my meanderings on water...its issues are the most serious of this century. You can start here http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2010/11/murray-darling-currency.html

Cheers,
Kathryn