Tuesday, June 6, 2017





THE ART OF PRESENCE

ART is many things to many different people and with 10 folks in the same room, you will have 10 different definitions of what Art is. For me, one of the elements of 'art' is Presence. By presence, I mean that when you view a work of art, you have a connection which is visceral and yes, seductive in the sense that you are drawn into another world of the making. The process of the making is one of another world away from our own reality, and you visit and have a communication with the maker of what he/she gave forth as their vision of their world's self. There is recognition of a message and you engage with the visual message and when you come away, there is a sense of having shared a journey with the maker.

This is why when you gaze at an overwhelming sunset, or a roaring waterfall, there is a sense of wonder of how this all came about. How did the elements of air, water, and molecules bring about this incredible scene of hypnotic splendor? The same can be said about a visual work of human made art. How did the elements of clay, molten bronze and plaster come about to make a work which is compelling in it's presence? 
The maker of the work brings together the many elements of a bronze with his/her hands, heart, and soul of care. With the human elements, you have this thing we call Art. It has presence, it has soul, and you stop, and gaze upon the voice of the making.


Such is the present offering of the Oceanside Museum of Art's exhibition of “Meaning of Bronze. The display of the bronze faces and hands have a voice of thunder, a voice of sorrow, and voices of acceptance. We gaze at these works, the representation of some who have journeyed through the most perilous of places and have come home with the terrors of battle. Through the process of the making a profound journey takes place with the kneading of the clay, the shaping of form, and the casting process of the crucible. This process the takes pain into a new direction away from our emotional self and the mind which endures the pain.  We heal with the making of our selves into another place of control, and another place without conflict. In the process, sometimes, we make Art. 

The Maker of the sunset, and splendor of a majestic water fall, well that's another story, one which will remain a mystery for our human existence for now....


Sunset Oceanside CA 2017 Ruth J Jameson 


Ruth J Jameson