Masters of Light

A subject which is of considerable interest to me is the practice of art, most particularly figurative art. From the days of Classical Greece, it has been quite simply an Issue.

Plato and Epicurus explore common ground on the subject, and of any philosopher to have had profound influence on the arts to this day – it is Plato. Epicurus’ aesthetics bear the marks of Plato, and it is back to Plato we have to go for understanding.

We artists have a love/hate relationship with Plato’s Aesthetics. I am exploring Plato, but from his later philosophy, which is of more interest to me: the Mature Plato.

Plato was an idealist. Art was a method to expressing the Ideal. However, Plato also was a materialist of a very special sort. The Neoplatonist Plotinus turned Plato upside down, and most understand him fairly wrongly on the physical world because of it, in my opinion. But that is another topic for discussion.

Plato did express in some of his works through some of his interlocutors, that censorship of art was a good thing. For Plato’s philosophy, art was powerful, and potentially dangerous. In my opinion, he’s not wrong.

I am emphatically not so much a fan of the censor as some of his characters were, but I do see where Plato’s philosophy had a point. I point directly to the propaganda of Nazi and Communist regimes, as well as American propaganda from World War I. A great collection of World War I posters are hosted at Georgetown University:

http://www.library.georgetown.edu/dept/speccoll/guac/amposter_99/

Take a very long, hard look at those propaganda posters. As much of an advocate of figurative art as I am, I do concede the point to Plato. Art can be dangerous, especially political art. Of all the major wars fought in recent history, World War I was the best example of a senseless, needless, deeply nasty bloody war. Americans by and large were vehemently opposed to getting involved in it. Propaganda to convince them otherwise abounded, and it is for this reason I point it out emphatically.

Now I will point out, what is most notable about most political art, is the use of figurative art. It is a common aspect of all of it.

Figurative art possesses within itself, a powerful ability to tell stories via the image. A powerful image is a blade with a double edge. It can be used for great good, or great harm, or something inbetween. The storytelling power of figurative art is formidable, and effective weapons are frequently drafted for the purposes of people, be they good or bad, or something inbetween. A powerful image is a powerful tool, or conversely an equally powerful weapon – it is up to us to use them prudently, wisely, with honor, with justice.

Back to Plato. He had roughly two phases. The early Plato, which is best represented by the Republic. Or the later Plato, best represented by the Laws. I go to the Laws, to the words of the Athenian, to get a better sense of how Plato thought towards the end of his life.

Plato, in the Laws, put a strong emphasis on Persuasion, when it came to enforcing the laws of his state, Magnesia. We come back to Persuasion, to Wisdom, to Prudence, to Metis… over and over again in Greek philosophy, in all the masters of Greek philosophy who matter.

We as visual artists, are possessed of a powerful ability to Persuade, via the figurative image. We have the responsibility as individuals to use that power wisely. I’ve observed over the years, that social control in communities has to come from somewhere. Either it comes top down, like in Plato’s Republic – laws handed down from on high. Or it comes bottom up, with the individual aware of their need for self-control. In reality, social control is an interplay of both top down and bottom up aspects. Plato started to come around more to the bottom up idea in his later thought. I admit that I prefer to see people become more and more bottom-up in their behaviour.

It is for this reason, I like Epicurus, who took the Bottom Up approach much further than anyone else in Greek philosophy. The imagery of Epicurus’ Garden is a powerful one, that of an organic, fractal growth, interdependent on each other – the society of Friends.

So now I, as an artist, visualise myself as a student on the path to the Mastery of Light. There are many great Masters of Light in art who I admire for many various reasons. I will write short pieces to highlight various ones of them, people who used their talent to illuminate their visions of the world. Some are Idealists, who used their formidable talent to illuminate the worlds of Ideas that animated them: taking us on a romp of their perfect visions of ideal worlds made real. Others are Realists, who used their considerable talent to illuminate the very gritty imperfect world we live in. All of them however, were Masters of Light, of the use of figurative art, most especially of the mastery of light itself, within their art to communicate their ideas of how they saw the world. They are all Masters.

Mere Words of Advice

Some good advice.

When I play back in my mind all the “advice” people have given me, I see that only a couple of ideas have stuck with me for life. The rest have been mere words, and I am glad that I did not heed most of it. Most consisted of recommendations such as “be measured and reasonable in your statements” contradicting the Black Swan idea, since empirical reality is not “measured,” and its own version of “reasonableness” does not correspond to the conventional middlebrow definition. To be genuinely empirical is to reflect reality as faithfully as possible; to be honorable implies not fearing the appearance and consequences of being outlandish. The next time someone pesters you with unneeded advice; gently remind them of the fate of the monk whom Ivan the Terrible put to death for delivering uninvited (and moralizing) advice. It works as a short-term cure.

From “The Black Swan” by Dr. Nassim Nicholas Taleb

He also gave me another piece of advice, and that was to answer all the letters from the “unimportant” people first. Not only is that his advice, he practiced it by answering me in a day with more of his advice, on how to concentrate on getting well again.

I will continue putting those “unimportant people” first, just like you. Because the unimportant and unknown are more important, they are the unknown sources of knowledge and friendship, they are the unread books in your library. Thank you for your advice, Dr. Taleb.

Another piece of advice in this vein, was inscribed on Epicurus’s statues and mosaics. It said:

It is impossible to live a pleasant life without living wisely and honorably and justly, and it is impossible to live wisely and honorably and justly without living pleasantly.

And from “The Letter to Pythocles”:

For we must not theorize scientifically about nature by means of empty maxims and arbitrary principles, but as phenomena require. For our life has no need of foolishness and idle opinion, but of an existence free from confusion.

And I promised a lovely red-headed neighbor a statue… I better get moving on it. Ta, and I hope my “mere words of advice” for today are of some use to someone!

On Parmenides and Epicurus, Reason and Belief

Something that is vitally important, is to remember whose tradition the Epicureans belonged to. They were not heirs to the Platonist tradition, no. No rather, Epicurus was from a succession of thought and debate that extended back through Pyrrho, through Democritus, deeply influenced by the rich thought of Empedocles, ultimately reaching back into the questions of Parmenides.

And who was Parmenides? He wrote a grand poem, which knocked the Pythagoreans off their own rock of belief, the belief in pure mathematics that lead to their mysticism.

Why did the Epicureans believe, why were they anti-sceptics and sceptics at the same time?