The Origins of Art
What is art and where did it come from?
It has been said that prostitution is the world's oldest profession. In truth, before the prostitute came the artist. Some time many tens of thousands of years ago, a caveman/woman held up their hand to the cave wall, and spat out pigment to make a silhouette of their hand. In this moment, they were reflecting upon their own existence. Subsequently, when they painted animals around the silhouette of their hands, they were reflecting upon how their existence fitted into the existence of the animals they fed upon and the world around them. After they died, the art left a reminder to others that they once existed. In a way, it was their gateway to immortality.
Although such creations were deeply personal experiences, they probably served value to other members of the tribe. These members might have looked upon the creations, and through them they also felt those emotional triggers of their own existence. They felt their world had some meaning. They felt connected to a tradition. They felt that when loved ones died, they were not completely gone. At some stage, these feelings gave rise to the professional sharman, an artist that acted as a navigator between the worlds. Since that time, art has existed in every known human community. It has existed in the trenches war, in the solitude of prison systems, and the harems of emperors.
I like to think the birth of the artist marked the birth of humanity. No other creature on earth creates art. It is what separates humans from animals. Some people may disagree with me here on the grounds that monkeys have been given art supplies and subsequently produced “artwork” that is not distinguishable from many abstract painters. However for me, this is more of a sign that many abstract artists are good salesmen, rather than a sign that monkeys are empowered with great insights into their own condition. At some stage in the last 100,000 years, the primate brain had evolved to the extent that it could process abstract ideas, and reflect upon the group, the individual and the ecosystem around it. It could conceive possibilities not immediately obvious, and could mould the environment to explore emotional, moral and logical ideas. In other words, the primate became human when the primate brain could produce art.
To define art as the marker of humanity requires a clear definition of what art actually is. For me, art is a creative exploration. It is different from a creative journey that has a set destination in mind. For example, a bird that makes a nest is not an artist because it is simply following an instinctually programmed code that exists to achieve a specific purpose. On the other hand, a human that makes a sculpture is not relying on an instinctual code. Whether the sculpture is art depends on its purpose. If it is purpose is to make a clear and obvious statement, then it is visual design. If the purpose is ambiguous to the extent that it expands awareness of the universe, then it is art. I put those caveman hands in this category.
As I now look at those caveman hands, I wonder about the people who made them. What did they feel? What did they think? Although the answers to these questions could never be found, speculating upon what those answers might be is gratifying in itself. If I came across those hand prints, my natural feelings would be to raise my own hand, and place it upon the silhouette and so feel a connection to a person that no longer lives anywhere but within my own mind. If they were seeking immortality, in a way they achieved it.
Hands in Art
Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam
Just as hands featured on those cave walls that recorded the genesis of human self-awareness, hands have featured prominently in the religious painting depicting spiritual creation. In Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam, one of the most immortal images of all time, it was through the outstretched hands that God bestowed upon Adam the qualities of life: the spirit, the soul, and the intellect.
Brett Whitely –Self Portrait In the Studio
Australian artist, Brett Whitely, also infused hands as his gateway to understanding his life with his Self Portrait in the Studio. With one hand, he holds a mirror of his own reflection, while the other hand paints an impression of himself. To the side are his paints. For Whitely, the motivation to paint was quite simple:
“The fine art of painting, which is the bastard of alchemy, always has been and always will be, a game. The rules of the game are quite simple: in a given arena, on as many psychic fronts as the talent allows, one must visually describe, the centre of the meaning of existence.”
Whitely is dead, yet like the 30,000 year-old hands prints on the cave walls of the Kimberly, his moment of reflection lives in all those that gaze upon his work.
Walking Hand - Chad Swanson
For me, painting has also been a way to reflect upon the meaning of my existence. One of my earliest memories is of pre-school, when a teacher taught us to swirl some paints around to make a pretty picture. I remember making an image that was different to everyone else’s, and I liked the fact that it was different. Since that time, I have always felt a desire to create. Unfortunately, this desire was suppressed under more rational pursuits like playing sport, studying, socialising and drinking. It wasn’t until I was 23 and confused about life that I finally bought a canvas. I then painted my first painting, and like the caveman, it was the hand that was central to my inquiry.
Walking Hand was my first painting. It is clichéd in a way in that it uses simplistic imagery to represent a feeling of confusion that warrants transition, yet is unable to achieve it in any other way than creativity.
Following on from Walking Hand, I created a series of paintings with hands as the focus.
Geometric Hand
Geometric Hand infuses some of the psychological power of shape and elemements of proportion to represent the artistic qualities of the hand.
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