"Art is our floundering shown. And in the light of contemporary art one might even say: our floundering shown up" - Henry James
I came across this quote several years ago. I had it posted on my website for a while. I like the honesty and directness of it. I appreciated the heart and vulnerability of it. I have tried to find its origin several times since. Mysteriously it seems to have disappeared. It has left the building (or was it the internet?).
It is a quote that has provided me with a few interesting conversations with well intentioned friends. They suggested that I remove this quote from my site. Claiming it unwise to admit to floundering and worse, to make that public on a “marketing tool” like a website. Which reminds me of another wonderful quote that I treasure, which states: Be vulnerable, only the dead are not.
When I begin a painting I consciously start with an idea of the colours I want to use. I will consciously choose the size of canvas. I will consciously use a specific tool. Once some of that well considered paint colour is on that specific canvas with that said tool it seems something else takes over and most often chaos quickly ensues. The great master painter Willem de Kooning said most artists’ work with doubt or even out of doubt. He was speaking of the same apprehension that James was expressing in his quote. It is not comfortable to feel such unease, but it is the only way I know how to paint with enthusiasm. I do not really want to know where I am going with a painting. I want to be in dialogue with a visual language that continues to surprise me. The trick is to stay engage with what feels at times to be a dialogue of complete gibberish! Trust and doubt are trying companions.
The quote says that art reveals to us our humanity. It is in our nature to flounder. We are the floundering species. Who would we be if we did not flounder? Without floundering we would not have questions, for we would have all the answers, or none of the answers. Art reveals “us” to ourselves, and our floundering “shown up” is always a surprise.
Denise Carson Wilde Dec 20-2013