“From one thing, know ten thousand things” Musashi

I am a visual artist, but there is a great deal that would differentiate my approach from many other visual artists; or at least the stereotype. I obtain a great deal of pleasure discussing art , but it is not my only or even my main source of information. The world is far too large and far too beautiful to be contained within any specific pigeonhole. I am attempting to depict, or translate reality into another form for others to see and for my communication to be clear - my view, and hence my knowledge of the world around me, must be balanced.

I cannot be satisfied with the odd headline, or watching a film that has decided to misinterpret a scientific principle and run with it because their misunderstanding is appealing. My scientific literacy isn’t particularly stellar, but I’ve done what I can to fill in the gaps and will avoid saying things or making claims on difficult subjects I know little about. Periodicals, multi-media lectures and books have served well in this way and the little discoveries I have made in this vein has influenced my artwork greatly. Physics, Biology and Math though, are not the only “extracurricular” subjects I peruse on my journey to improve my understanding of the world.

The subject I enjoy interpreting the most in my artwork is the human figure, and for this I not only have to have a deep understanding of human anatomy – but human psychology as well. We are not just some mechanical creature made animate from some ethereal breath. We are beings that have countless experiences, memories, tragedies and triumphs that have shaped our lives. Understanding these aspects of the human condition are also in some ways a prerequisite to clearer vision of the individual in front of you. Of course the major key is keen observation, but I enjoy supplementing my own observations with those of psychologists, sociologists and anthropologists.

These apparently competing interests (along with my competitive activities in martial arts and chess) take a great deal of time away from what I would probably consider my main interest – Art. However, I feel that the art I produce is better because of these extra efforts. It’s a good principle in general to have a broader, more global intelligence or literacy. Having a basic understanding of how things work enriches your experiences and improves your ability to make decisions. This principle is even more important for artists as part of their “job” is to depict or translate experience in an accurate or meaningful way. If all you do is immerse yourself in art theory and art speak, what you produce will be nothing more than elaborate in-jokes between yourself and the very limited audience of anointed members of artistic academia.

This brings me to a discussion of the quote at the beginning of this introduction from “The Book of Five Rings” by Musashi Myomoto.

“From one thing, know ten thousand things”

On the surface the book is about sword fighting and becoming a more effective Samurai, but the principles espoused in that book have been used by a very wide range of individuals from athletes of all sports, to military generals, and businessmen. There are fundamental underlying principles shared by anything where a struggle between opposing forces exist and it is for this that the ideas in this book are valued by so many. Musashi himself advocated picking up an art form like calligraphy or flower arranging to further improve your abilities as a Samurai; this is because he understood that there is a unity to knowledge. Greater understanding of a subject isn’t helped by further specialization, but by keeping an open mind and not looking at the world with only one eye.