: Welcome to my humble show,
!
Do you enjoy being here?
: Yes I do
: Good!
So, when I asked you if you wanted to be on here, you accepted because, quote, "abreaction of psychological trauma is a continuous part of my work for good reason it seems to tie in well with your project."
What is it you are about to abreact, how does it influence your works, and where do you see them ties?
:
It is a form of exorcism. Abreaction visualizes the horrific, much like physically shaking off trauma imbedded in the body, visual abreaction releases it from permanently blocking life. (-Dissociation)
In principle facing 'befriending' Demons diffuses their power.
: Oh wow, now that one is dated 2008… I guess you must have exorcized quite a lot of demons since then?
So what would you say, is the main difference between "befriending" ones and others?
: Befriending ones own Demons is a strategy for personal healing, it brings them into consciousness where they can be dealt with. I think the same holds true for others, societal demons need acknowledgement in order to be tamed.
there is a little text with this as well- Extricate Excess Angst
Actually Fairytales, especially the Brother Grimm ones allow children to learn to deal with Angst and thus dissipate it.
Dead Stares deals with the danger of dissociation after a traumatic event.
Incidentally it foreshadows my eye problem in a way.
: Do you want to talk about your "eye problem" here?
If not, why not just tell us a bit more about DEMONS instead!
So, which ones do you think are the greater evils – the personal ones or the ones society brings with it? Also, which ones would you consider to be more like causing TRAUMA?
In one of your descriptions, you also mentioned a "lesson learned from a child" – do you think children do have general advantages in quests like, dealing with demons?
: It took me a while to decide whether I can talk about that right now. Well, the eye problem is caused by a rare genetic condition which went unknown until fairly recently, it probably took my mothers sight, but they didn't know about it back then, it's called Pseudoexfoliation and clogs up the interior ducts with skin cells resulting in progressively higher eye pressure, causing glaucoma. I have been treated for glaucoma but run out of medication options to control the pressure due to the recent allergic reaction. There is skin coming off on the outside as well now. This has to be cleared up before surgery, but it still is a bloody mess...
I do think children have the advantage of relating openly and directly in the moment, they express their fears instantly and thus don't internalize the demonic.
: It actually hurts just to read this… How much hope do you have left here?
About your other answer, do you think that losing that children's advantage is just a natural process, or do you think there are ways to keep that even as an adult?
: I am on my way to the clinic right now to see what can be done.
I'll have to answer when I get back.
Just briefly, it is really not a natural process, but induced by societal standards of conformity. It is possible to get it back, even as adult, but it requires substantial re-education amounting to a paradigm shift.
: So what's the story?
: There is hope yet. The external symptoms may not be entirely due to the underlying condition. I was put on a 10 day course of antibiotics which hopefully clears up the inflammation so the surgeries can proceed.
To elaborate some on why children loose their natural advantage, it is really a maladaptation. Societies judging presence drives difficult feelings underground. No longer finding release in natural expression they keep festering in the subconscious and become internalized.
Even PTSD Post Traumatic Stress Disorder can largely be avoided by allowing instinctive survival responses their course of expression. Relegated to the subconscious traumatic events become more dramatic, the demonic eventually gains Archetypal Power, overwhelming the personality.
Art has an important role in permitting the necessary open dealing with problems and thus fostering release on a personal level as well as setting a societal paradigm shift in motion.
: With regard to that, how would you comment the relationship between your medical condition and the art you do? Is it "just" an exorcism thing, or is there more to it, for example in HOW you do it?
Also, how would you describe your personality?
: Only lately was my present medical condition reflected in a preoccupation with eyes and the specter of loss. On a personal level the Abreaction pieces attempt to exorcise a politically determined severe childhood trauma, but the work itself addresses societal issues from a depth psychological perspective.
Beyond the personal, Art is reflective of the Zeitgeist. Culturally we have lost much of the ability to cope with todays pervasive traumatic condition. The planet itself is traumatized, we have to find a way to restore natural balance, which starts with facing up to our own devastating impact, rather than living in easy denial. Only acute change in conscious awareness of each individual will bring about the necessary paradigm shift in society. Art is never 'just' personal.
As to my personality, of course it has been shaped by the early trauma, it is miraculous that I survived, this has also taught me incredible perseverance.
Yes, I am introverted, I don't take things lightly. In my Art I work intuitively now, even in conceptual work, always meticulously.
This comes after decades of rigorous Design work solving issues in the corporate world.
: Elaborate on the "planet itself being traumatized", please!
Also, how do you imagine that paradigm shift you were talking about, and where exactly does art come into play here?
: Big questions and considerations, it takes everybody to address.
We all know the devastating impact humanities singleminded strife has had on the planet. – The planet will shake us off to survive –
The consequences of our exploitation are becoming painfully clear, yet entire populations are still in denial.
Global warming already lead to an accelerated pace of destructive weather patterns, the earth is shaking, defending itself.
It is the eleventh hour.
A shift from exploitation to appreciation is long overdue.
Art is a great teacher.
In the process of making art we become aware of the consequences of each action. We take care in an awareness that everything is connected.
Subconscious material surfaces in expression, it teaches us to face all aspects instead of denial. It teaches us respect and yes, Love, the great motivator. Thus tremendous healing power can unfold. Responsibility naturally follows.
: What's the difference between ART and LOVE?
: Actually in my view the difference just lies in the form of expression in terms of medium, process, Gestalt.
– Art activates Love -and vice versa. Both are expansive and foster becoming all one can be.
Ultimately, in principle Art and Love share the same source.
: Next one is a rather stupid question really, but I guess it still deserves to be asked…
So, how would you comment on the relationship of a) talking about love, but b) doing deviations like these…?
: Haha, I asked myself the same thing when I wrote this
Just have to think of a quote from Carl Jung "Enlightenment is not imagining figures of light but making the darkness conscious"
: Why is JUNG superior to FREUD?
: It is more a developmental progression. Jung evolved into a deeper view over Freud's rather restrictive determinations. Then again James Hillman evolved from the views of Jung.
: What should we remember from HIM, and how would THAT be connected to your works?
: Of course his marvelous complexities can not be reduced to a simple statement, but to me he brought Psychology back into Life, connecting Spirit and Matter in Soul.
"The Soul sees by means of affliction"
It is easy to love beauty, but to reach a state of grace in despair expands the depth of soul beyond the limits of normalcy. Art allows that experience.
Hillman saw the value in pathology, thus restored meaning to suffering in expanding the soul. Soul as a present living entity in everything, expressed imaginatively.
: Elaborate on the relationship between PSYCHOLOGY and LIFE, please!
: Psychology with emphasis on Psyche (back to its ORIGIN mid 17th cent.: via Latin from Greek psukhē 'breath, life, soul.')
Our world ensouled in shifting attention to Soul as a tangible presence in everyday life.
A spiritual dimension brought back into our experience of reality.
Fully realizing ones own uniqueness restores meaning in the here and now instead of projecting it into an afterlife.
Hillman emphasizes value in individual creative acts, a psychology based without shame in Art and Culture, a psychology that is inclusive, not exclusive.
Beyond the personal there is a soul quality to all things in the environment, whether natural or manmade.
Anima Mundi.
: So what does this mean for the artist and his works?
Because obviously, there has to be soul in them, too… How are these souls connected with the soul of their creator?
For example, which one of these three souls is more YOU?
: To the artist the soul is the source of the life in the work, it encompasses all development. When the soul of the work resonates in the viewer a dialog is activated, it's course may depart from the artists input, what is important is the soul activation itself in the viewer. Everyone is touched in a different way, the artist gives the impetus.
– In retrospect for me the 1.Example "Spirit Upheaval" delineates a Search for Serenity, although still marked by terror, but not dominated by it.
: What are your criteria to decide when a work is "finished?"
: The soul of the work will let me know when it reaches its "Gestalt" –
Then I go through layer by layer in a visual / technical refining process.
: What happens there, then?
: Well, with the content, composition and emotional expression already established it's just a matter of peeking emphasis:
spot sharpening, block-out with bezier pen tool where needed, color balance, saturation, sometimes channel mixer, emphasizing parts and subduing others, bringing the blending together again in consolidating the layers. (Then I drastically down sample the piece for online viewing.)
: Do you think it's important for artists to KILL THEIR BABIES?
: Well, I hate watermarks, at least downsizing is not intrusive. Online detail is lost anyway in the usually brief attention span and smaller viewing device.
I do think it offers some protection to keep the original separate.
Yes of course the full impact is reserved.
: That's not want I meant here… How often do you actually KILL older works you did?
: Do you mean kill in terms of destruction or in the sense of bringing it up to par?
In the first sense the crashes killed a lot for me, more die of neglect when I change media or content. I don't like to pin myself down. Theoretically I intend to finish up some of the older works I started, but somehow I always start new ones instead. I have way more works started than I can ever finish. I do "polish" up older works sometimes in getting them ready for a show or print.
: Do you have some examples of "polished" works you could share with our humble audience?
Also, what kind of SHOWS do you do?
: Much of the body of work I post on DA is categorized as photo manipulation. The use of stock restricts how I can show the work. Consequently I do not pursue any commercial shows or print. I show in a cultural context and obtain the proper permission from the respective stock providers.
This example is based largely on my own photography, it shows why the scale dictates attention to detail.
on exhibit
this is a preliminary I had posted on DA
Now I use mainly large scale projection, preferably immersive environments to show the work, because emotional impact is what matters to me.
: Do you have any exhibits running in the near future, that we should be aware of?
: Unfortunately right now I am too immersed in medical problems to seek anything . . .
: So summing all that up finally, what would your last words for our noble audience be?
: In summing up my body of photo-manipulation work which evolved during my time at DA, where art has once more become simply part of everyday life for everyone: To take the moments from others lives which they choose to share as stock and create an entirely new life from these multiple aspects is a form of communal discourse that reaches much deeper than social media can. It touches Soul.
: Everything got SOUL. How's yours?
Ladies and gentlemen:
!
Do YOU want to be a part of the GHOUL SHOW?
Don't hesitate to apply: dasghul.deviantart.com/journal… 
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