July 11, 2010

"...we find only the world we look for."



I keep a copy of Henry David Thoreau's Journals out on the living room table, where I can easily dip into it every few days. I like to see what he was doing and thinking at this same time of year; looking through July entries, I found the following from July 2, 1857:
Many an object is not seen, though it falls within the range of our visual ray, because it does not come within the range of our intellectual ray, i.e., we are not looking for it. So, in the largest sense, we find only the world we look for.
This entry resonated strongly with me; Thoreau expresses with his usual clarity and depth an idea that I believe is very important in art making, and in simply living in the complex and rich present. I did not see lichen until I began to carry my camera into the woods to photograph for this blog; I did not see mosses, or many mushrooms, or the varied details of flowers. In searching for images for painting, I have noticed shapes, colors and relationships that I had previously overlooked, helped by my work with rug hooking; the abstraction of the ruglets encouraged me to find similar forms in my preferred subjects of farm machinery:




We each seek a different world, and find a different place within it. Artists can point us to new ways of seeing, as Thoreau does with his writing, Matisse with color and light, Bach with sound. I believe it is important to be ever open to new images and new thoughts, so that the world we see is always enlarging and becoming more profound. I would hope that one of the messages of my work––with paint, wool, or on this blog––is 'pay attention'.

13 comments:

  1. well said, Altoon.
    the word 'enriching' comes to mind. just because I carry a camera I notice so much more than I would without it. the word 'stealing' comes to mind - I steal graffiti, shadows, cross-walk paint anomalies, billboards... it is so energizing it feels illegal.
    and art - I was just thinking the other day 'the world doesn't need any more art' - then I saw something that knocked my socks off and I appreciated again this renewable visual communication that art is...

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  2. thanks for giving your take on this, rappel. I used to think of the word 'stealing' when taking ideas from art, contemporary or earlier. And, it's definitely energizing, thrilling, to notice and engage with something previously unseen, including art.

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  3. Well Altoon, the top photograph makes me look at slugs in a new way--with more respect, and not just loathing. That one seems to be doing his own careful looking, contemplating the wider world with Thoreau-like quiet intensity.

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  4. I hope you don't mind my pointing out, with humor, that your comment illustrates the Thoreau quote perfectly, Susan: the mollusk in the photo is a land snail, a relation of the slug. I also thought it looked like it was regarding its world with great interest, or it was peering into the abyss.

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  5. And that's an illustration of how our eyes can sometimes offer more information directly than when looking at the world through a photograph--I couldn't tell if that reflection was from slime or a shell! Maybe a land snail is a more sensitive being than a common slug?

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  6. What a wonderful image of the small snail peering over the edge of a leaf vein! And what a different view of the world these tiny creatures have. My favorite Thoreau essay is "Life Without Principle" with its lament that humans spend their lives with "work, work, work" and not enough looking. He and Emerson both decried the coming of the railroad as it speeded up life too much ( and made such noise!)
    Re: milkweed, not only is it beautiful and fragrant but also edible. I haven't tried it yet but it's on my list of "must try". Settlers also stuffed mattresses with its down.

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  7. Susan, I think we have a better reaction to snails, with their pretty shells, than with naked slugs; and slugs are so destructive in the garden. I don't know if the creatures themselves are more sensitive.
    hi Gail, I took several shots of that snail and chose the one with it at the edge of the leaf; I'm glad you like the image. I haven't read that Thoreau essay, so thanks for the tip.Good luck with your attempt at eating milkweed, the immature pods, I think.

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  8. Hello Altoon, "we only find the world we look for" and I am so happy that I found this post today as it added to my looking...I wanted just a bit more knowledge and here was this excellent listing of your favorite posts. Well done. You are an inspiration to me.

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  9. I just commented on a recipe but also noticed the "favorite posts" we find only the world we look for. I just thought it was somewhat serendipitous that I just took home a book from the library yesterday thanks to a friends recommendation. The book is called The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating: A True Story
    by Elisabeth Tova Bailey She was bedridden and did nothing but watch the snail...

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  10. Carol, I had just put that book on my shopping list; it was recommended by my naturalist friend (see my most recent post "A Walk with a Naturalist". I'm looking forward to reading it.

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  11. Thank you so much... this was exactly the world I was looking for.

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  12. Altoon, yesterday I discovered your blog. I absolutely love your work.You have given me a different and much needed view of my own work and sparked in me something that feels deep down and familiar. If that makes sense. Thank you.. I will be reading and looking from now on.

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    1. Thanks so much, Caroline; it pleases me that you have enjoyed finding this blog.

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