Monday, November 15, 2010

Atmospheric Lives

One of the benefits of doing an Open Studio is observing the many different types of ways that people respond to specific pieces of art. I see it as a constantly unfolding revelation about the diversity of the human psyche.

We often think of people as living concrete step by step lives full of distinct experiences and memories. There are the ladder climbers, the stepping stone hoppers, the people with a finger in lots of pies.

I perceive another type in Roger: I call his an atmospheric life. His memories are more diffused than most, and he might have trouble pinning recent events down. He thinks/feels his way through life with intensely immediate observation. He might take notes to keep a record of his thoughts, but when he leaves one event behind in order to take in the next event, he does so with complete abandon of the past and a complete commitment to the immediate new. These events might be as large as a trip to a new country or as small as a hike into his tiny back yard. While he doesn't claim to have a great memory, he recognizes that his intellect is constantly active and pulls from the whole of his life's experiences at any moment. To him his life is one big grand event.