Storm Townsend...

a contemporary
traditionalist
(A clue into the behavior of creative thought) by Paul Henrickson, PhD.

tm. 2014

There are some thorny questions involved in creativity research

and some amazingly complicated structures even worms wear crowns and don royal robes.

and

One might as the following! "f nature can do all this on its own# why don$t members of the human community do the same% &ell# in a more modest way it does e'actly that. One such member of that community# the (ondon born Storm )iane Townsend and now a resident of *orrales# +ew ,e'ico does e'actly that.

(et us first set the stage for a special ind of understanding that may be more imaginatively fle'ible than our usual mode of thin ing to one that is# perhaps# more open and receiving . One that will allow us to turn an accidental -blob. into a crucifi'ion. "t is# after all# the way one perceives that turns the tric of at first seeing a

-blob. of paint and then# as if by -magic.#.....a crucifi'ion. This sort of thing is what Steven /. 0aufman calls -e'periential reality. as opposed to a reality confirmable through various testing measures which ends up ma ing -reality. validly real by a series of numbers and letters such as *o1...or is it *O1% and being what *lement 2reenberg# in his lecture at &estern ,ichigan 3niversity# termed -taste..

is

+ow# having said the impossible and demonstrated the magic let us turn to the products of Storm Townsend and# perhaps a few others# to clarify even further what -reality. might really be and where it is.

4rom the e'pressions of awe and bewilderment on the children$s faces one might thin one is watching the birth of an idea. 4or sure# what the children see is not what Storm Townsend sees ( this is most assuredly true if the end result of seeing takes lace in the brain! and the satisfying delight Storm e'periences in understanding her own especially created language# the occult language of the aesthetic# is evident.

The evidence of the children$s willingness to give all this new e'perience a try is also there. Additionally# all of this is also evidence of yet another dimension to consciousness. And this gives birth to the suspicion that there may be more to reality# what Steven /. 0aufman calls -e'periential reality. than what is perceived...at the moment. One might hypothesise that there is a need# or# an impulse #in man# to put mysteries into order and then# because man is often dissatisfied with the order he had created ...does the whole thing again.

" do not now# but " suppose# this wor to come from the period when Townsend was in "ndonesia . 5ight from the very start it can be asserted that Townsend$s visual accuity and attention to detail of circumstances for these figures have produced an accurate representations of the young "ndonesian female# the "ndonesian dance forms and even# amusingly# the demurely provocative facial e'pressions when# it would appear that# the performers would li e to chec out the audience$s reaction to their seductive dancing. So# already# it has been established that Townsen d has a realistic perspective on several measures of realism. All the above# being what they may#andd among it is the aesthetic organization of planes and ovoids which comprise the basic s eletal structure of the wor ...all the other is anecdotal# but# while still of interest# tells us little about how an artist thin s in terms of organization. "t is# largely# the organozation of such visual events and their au'iliary characteristics which ultimately displays the

message# the statement# or the point of view. "n art# there are many of these. Above " underscored and highlighted the phrase which comprise the basic s eletal structure of the wor in an efffort to shift the focus the reader$s attention from the sub6ect matter of a wor to its organization. ,y guess would be that despite the efforts of nowledgable art educators there may still be a significant percentage of the population believing that the the goodness or the badness of a wor of art rests on the sub6ect matter and that a painting of The 7irgin ,ary also had to be holy...as holy as its sub6ect matter is thought to be. This shift of focus may be called a pro6ection of affectional e'pectation an e'ample of which may be seen in a recent video of a mother holding her infant in her arms as she gazes upon the wor of a sculptor showing the bust of a nude female. 8er child# a boy as it turned out# also notices the bust and leans forward from his nother$s arms to suc le. The result was amusement for observers and profound dissapointment for the id. This error of attribution in and among the religious communities still permates vast segments of the population of whatever the faith whether *atholic# 9rotestant# :udhist# 8indu. "t represents the presence of the power of authority# and the dogma of obedience over the proper operations of mind. "t is a very serious conceptual error to supose that an icon is holy because it depicts a sub6ect

that is thought holy. Transferring attributes is a conceptual error .

("oren#o $ene#iano (attributed!

"n a comple' society# such as many are these days# a simpler# more direct and elementary form of communication is necessary to avoid what might be a disastrous conclusion. "f# for e'ample# in large international airports color coded paths to destinations within the airport had not clarifed for a clientel

of many and unshared languages where one should go and what was the most efficient way of getting there. The function of such an airport is to get people to where they need to be as quic ly# directly and as safely as possible . The function of a wor of art such as Townsend$s "ndonesian dancers is much li e the "ndonesian dance itself# designed to arrest and to concentrate the attention of observers on certain visual and e'pectant delights which might# were such a performance ti ta e p ace in an airport lobby# very well# divert attention sufficiently to eep an obsevr from reaching the proper airline terminal. The point being that the organization of a wor # an airport or an item of sculpture# finds its final form after consideration of its purpose.

The art movement which strssed the idea of form following function reached its heigth several decades ago and developed in response to what had been# in some cases# the notion that for anything to be beautoful it had to be decorated. /vidence of the greatness of an artist is to be found in the manner inwhich he has organized the wor and not in its story;telling sub6ect matter although#atthis point " should probably mention Arthur 5ac ham was a notable e'ception.

Some illustrative e'amples apppear below!

%he &to ians

'igure

(neeling 'igure

:ut Townsend has also# presumably through her own personal e'uberance# shown how an inanimate material such as bronze can be made very successfully to reveal movement and to penetrate space not unli e the way ballet dancers and other leaping creatures

do.

Space is an aspect of our environment with which the history of sculpture shows us man has had an increasingly vital concern. The /gyptians. ,esopotamian cultures and the early 2ree s were aware of its potential in only a very limited way. There is another artist#"van ,estrovic# a generation earlier actually# who also wor ed (see belo)! with the seemingly disparate approaches to organiation# those approaches being <) an e'act record of the ob6ect being represented and 1) the organization of the elements of that ob6ect into a unifying geometric (or non;ob6ective) shape. &ith Townsend these geometric shapes are actually more plastic and reformable than a strict geometry would allow. 4or e'ample in -The 3topians. (above) the geometric shapes have a molded aspect to them that seems more friendly to and responsive to the organic forms of the figures. "n the -4igure. to its right the rectangular formations created by the action of the figure seem to bend in

response to imagined air currents and in -The 0neeling 4igure. (below those two) the placements of the limbs of the figure appear to create a combination of interloc ing triangles. "t is this use of the triangle in con6unction with the very organic development of the bodies involved which tempts me to suggest an analogy between the very personal agonizing an'ieties the individuals portrayed may be feeling for whatever the personal= reasons and the constraining nature of a triangle. "n the two female figures shown the heads are intimately involved# almost ine'tricably entangled with trainagles created by the arms themselves and encapsulating the head where# after all# most an'iety finds a location. "n the standing figure the nees # aw wardly nearly touching each other and in a position which would inhibit mobility also suggest a groinal emergency which# in its turn suggests an an'iety rooted in some erotic sensation. "n ->O:. the two ma6or traingles are formed by the position of body parts. The top triangle formed by the two hands and the nose# the bottom triangle by the nees and the feet. "n the statue these triangles are seen as separate# but our culture# for some time now# has made us all quite familiar with the -Star of )avid. snd its association with 8ebraic religious beliefs and as >ob had been the sub6ect of a contest between 2od and (ucifer over the question of >ob$s constancy it seems not too far fetched an interpretation to

suggest that ,estrovic may have so arranged it.

The *roatian sculptor "van ,estrovic had had some disturbing contacts with certain political elements

-9ieta. at +otre )ame 3niversity

"f there is anything distinguishing the wor of "van ,estrovic it might be said to be the dualistic nature in the individual betwen hopeful epectations and and the disappointment inherent in reality producing in the indiviual the very compelling need to e'press the psychic agony. *ompositionally# the elements ma ing up this figure by ,estrovic may be said to have been inspired by ,ichelangelo da

,erisi$s -)awn. which# however# is not agonized.The agony felt by repressing response seems contained by the geometric confinement in the -8ead. and ->ob. but in the figure there seems to be no such containment and the figure is twisting out of shape not unli e# it seems# the body of

>ohn ,erric . &hat " should li eto indicate is that the agony ,estrovic may have felt regarding the social ambiance in *5OAT"A at the time may be? to some e'tent# correlated to the undoubted agony# mental# physical and social of >ohn ,erric . ,estrovic# however# li e other artists had been able to give some creative e'pression to these responses and# symbolically at least# been able to ad6ust imbalances ,erric # perhaps# had only been able to protest.

"n contrast# of course#Townsend while very much aware of postential sources of an'iety by and large in her wor # e'presses contentment with thehuman relations she encounters and e'uberant 6oy seems to characterize the most intimate of these. Other directions bring us# as seems the customeof a large segment of /nglish society# into the realm of the

fanciful

The reader may miss the relatively subtle suggestion that the fanciful characterizes the behaviors of politicians# but that is the indest view " can e'press of a class of people who have forgotten what thir responsibilities are although -lonesome. )ave *argo may have been an e'cpetion if the parameters were sufficiently narrow. &hile " am pleased that Townsend$swor was recognized " have grave doubts that any of those involved had much of an idea of eher creative efforts...or cared." have strong reservations about public relation photographs which tend to show the politicians doing favors and providing accolades to a member of the masses# but in this instance it does appear as though Townsend was quite able to hold her own. As for fantasy# and -6oie de vivre.# as they 4rench say# Townsend provides us the following!

"n these first si' e'ampls Townend seems to originate from a conventional core idea and then # by some manipulation of an element suchas a position or a limb stretch it out from its normal sphere and into an into a world of improbabilities where people inhabit a sphere and tal to birds or streach limbs or fold body parts . "t is the last of thefirst si' which "# personally# have found rewarding and creatively fruitful.

('or e*tended notes on this small )ork

see discussion belo) under +,-'"&.-/.01!Mm

"+4(3/+*/S
"t is clear that Townsend can wor -tight. and -loose. -calm and rela'ed. and -e'ubrant and 6oyfull.# and always translating these states of emotional response into controlled comprehensible statements# as in the first three e'amples above . She does have -flights of fancy. from time to time as in the botttom four# where a sub6ect of her choosing# quite beyond but added to# or imposed upon# the originating sub6ect#the original figure. The type of mental behavior# that is the fle'ibity involved in the finding of solutions to perceived problems and the variety of their application can be clearly seen in the above e'amples and are characteristic indicators of a creative approach to e'perience. ,"+) S/TS A+) 4O*3S As an indicator that this form of mind operation is characteristic of probably all creative artists " introduce the wor of 3mberto :occioni

The two wor s below by 3mberto illustrate the

:occioni

dramatically

range of approaches and of interests a single artist may ta e in giving a factual e'pression to his motivations. , or to put it another way
-incarnatng his preoccupations.

"n these instances we might say the mysterious appearances of light and movement rather than a portrait of a particular person ()hich it is as )ell! or a pattern on a flat surface ()hich it is as )ell!. "t might be more correct to say that light bouncing off a body and the multiple images of movement are two aspects of the same phenomenon ..The ephemera of vision. +ow comes another worm in the can. The wor of the Santa *lara 9ueblo "ndian ,ichel +aran6o is notably outstanding mainly because during the 7ietnam war he lost his eyes. 8e has none. So from the time he was # probably his twenties# until now there could be no visual input to inform his wor All his wor must have had to have been accomplished through memory of sight and through feel. ...through touch. "t is possible.of course# that he might have had informants who may have guided him here and there# but " have had no reports of such. &hat # therefore# is awesome in his wor is that it is almost entirely based on tactile information and what memories may still function from the two decades he had

sight. "t suggests that there is a very active correspondence between the sense of touch and those parts of the brain that con6ur images. "n any event# for our purposes his wor is very closely badsed on the goals of verisimilitude# that is# truth to appearance.

1-ude1 , or to ut it another )at +incaranatng his

reoccu ations 2occioni +Horses1

"f there is one unifying characteristic in the above two e'amples.the-nude.and the -horses.# it is seen in the artist$s concern for the visual effect of the paint on the canvas.Otherwise the differences are more apparent for in the -+ude. the effect of light on human hair and flesh and the beautifully rendered bac of the woman testify to :occioni$s ability to observe. "f we credit the artist$s sincereity of intent the observer is required to ad6ust his e'pectations of what a wor of art should loo li e by considering that# at this time# many artists were

cocerned with the appropriateness of e'panding graphic representation by picturing movement. This :occioni did in

sculpture as well painter ,arcel

And as did the

)uchamp (belo)!.

Ducham , +'igure1

,oving from the supremacy of the ob6ect which is the sub6ect of a painting to the supremacy of the painting itself over the alleged sub6ect has not# in my awareness# been a concern of many persons commenting on art. "t is# however#a vital

sub6ect to understand if a concern for what motivates the creative artist is a valid one. )"ST"+23"S8"+2 )"44/5/+*/S :y way of a strong contrast in focus the very literal wor of

,alvina 8offman (133451677! comes to mind. 8er stated

intent was# apparently# to ma e a sculptural record of various ethnic types which is#to say the very least# a very academic approach. :elow are e'amples which are while admirable in both technical control and ob6ective observation are devoid of much infused imagination.

8ofmann -American "ndian.

8offman# /ast "ndian

Hnofm,a 8offman..African.

T8/ "+/44A:(/
(ight and movement as foci of graphic representation are selfimposed challenges very different indeed from the 8offman goal of verisimilitude# or the e'act representation of the sub6ect. (ight has been as an aspect of vision has been a sub6ect for the painter for more than a century and a half. "n fact it could be argues that ,ASA**"O (140151423!with his modeling of reality through the use of light and shade was very much in advance of his time.

At this time# :occioni$s time and before it could be said that it has become a standard aesthetic concern and @his superb nude is a testamony to the effort having achieved a high technical status.but# then# we now some artists pay little or no attention to it e'cept that without light their wor would go

unseen. "t is# therefore# on some level an indespensible factor in understanding the qualities of an art product The insubstantiality of light and its quality to reveal or to hide material ob6ects continues to fascinate the artist. 8oweverr not all are fascinated as " have been and as well# to e'traordinary effectiveness.

9ierre :onnard#

+ow# on top of this lengthy discussion regarding the supremacy of structure over sub6ect matter allow me to inter6ect an item in possible opposition% "n this case " now neither the artist# nor the originating sub6ect matter but what appears is a dead girl frozen in a pile of icicles.

"t would be untrue# however# to assume that structure did not e'ist here for what is paramount in the e'ecution of the wor is a well; focused attention on the vusual qualities of the scene. &hat is most evident in this case is -light.# the light which creates a ind of reflective glare obscuring# in part# the details of the corpse. &hile there seems to be no -structure. in the sense of what we see in Townsend$s dancing "ndonesian virgins there is certainly the discipline of reflected light being the ma6or focus 6ust as it had

been in the following two wor s# one by myself#

and

one by 9ierre :onnard . "n both these wor s the sub6ect is not what ob6ect may e'ist within the frame but the fracturing of light# "t is that which is the unifying structure in all these wor s.

"f one considers the refracted light as the sub6ect for a painting as opposed to the ob6ect being lit by the light then the ob6ect itself seems to disappear as a diret result of the amorphousness of light itself. (oo at this painting by

Oscar;*laude ,onet of

a river at sunset with smo ing industrial stac s on the other ban where all material ob6ects#

the boats# the buildings even the water itself appear to disolve into the nothingness of refracted light.

:ecause " have chosen to discuss aspects of painting and aspects of sculpture should not be seen as a confusing deterrent to being able to focus on the real point which is that regardless of the medium# bronze or paint# it is the indiviual artist$s requirment to push the limits (e* and theboundaries! of the probing analytical scalpel of his aesthetic. "f# in this process# what we normally thin of as the sub6ect of the wor disappears and what the artist causes to happen in his wor is the ma6or or only concern this situation could well be viewed as an opportunity rather than a liability. Sub6ect matters tend to emerge out of the non;ob6ective abstract.

Additionally# it might be helpfu to remember that the medium is only a vehicle. "t is not an end in itself even if a traditional sub6ect seems absent and only the physical characteristics of the medium are apparent there seems something e'tant in the

action of the viewer with the ob6ect that encourrages an awareness of sub6ect...or encourages us to ma e one up to satisfy or psychological need for closure. +ow# in this regard it may e helpful to recall that psychologists claim that the creative mind delays closure for a longer period that the less creative mind. &hat this suggets# by implication# is that if there are differences in the amounts of data a mind is willing to accept# or absorb# that it would also be reasonalbe to suppose that even the most active of minds grasping for data wil# inevitably# leave some behind and that something # in turn# suggests an ocean full of creative potential. The implications are staggering.