I don’t know a creative person or organization that doesn’t have constraints or limitations. Those barriers might be internal, such as time and money, or external such as those imposed upon us by the world in which we live.
About a week ago, I was reading an article in the art and design section of the paper on artists who have found new ways to see after losing their vision to macular degeneration. Afterward, I reflected on other artists and how they, with their own physical limitations, still created new work.
- Henri Matisse created his Gouaches Decoupes or Paper Cuts Outs from the seat of his wheelchair.
- Curtis Mayfield, remember the soundtrack from “Super Fly,” after being paralyzed from the neck down went on to record “New World Order.”
- Stoney Lamar, a gifted wood sculptor, diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2009 then integrated the tremors in his hands to guide his motions. The result of this artistic expression represents “the universal tension between freedom and control.”
When it is my turn, I hope that I can embrace the koan or riddle of the “Goose in the Bottle,” and like these creatives, continue to express my visual vocabulary and share it with the world.
