The Abstract Art of Arnulf Rainer

Arnulf Rainer an Austrian artist of the post-war period, his work is abstract and very defined seems as if he smears charcoal over his canvases. His art feels very rough and rushed but still managing to create intricate details in some of his artworks. His art work relates to our now contemporary art of today. A couple of semesters ago i was on a photography assignment based on an abstract artist from Kuala Lumpur, he shared his insights of art to me and my friends, he mentioned that our own art styles can be influenced easily by our surroundings/environment. The artist i was photographing was a very opinionated, some of what he mentioned to me made me understand more of art and the outlooks of it may it be visionary or prethought. "Design is not all about how much it costs or how it looks but the knowledge behind it is the key". - Anonymous.




*Images retrieved from http://www.moma.org/collection/

Interview with Lauren Montgomery.

In my research i came across this interview with Lauren Montgomery a student who stayed clear of drugs although drugs have surrounded her throughout her life, she managed to stay clean and focus on her greatest passion, photography.

How did you become interested in photography?
I took a photography class my sophomore year in high school – after that, I was hooked. I took all the classes available my senior year and became really inspired by one of my teachers.

My goal in high school was to complete my portfolio – but as I’ve grown as an artist, my focus has changed. Now I want to express how I feel in a photograph and simply capture a moment of time.

Some of your art depicts struggles with drug abuse. Why did you choose to focus on this topic?
I was surrounded with people who had issues with drugs. My uncle struggled with drug problems, my aunt was addicted to Vicodin – even my ex-boyfriend developed an addiction after we started dating. I saw what drugs did to people close to me, and I was lucky enough to learn from their mistakes and to never want to use myself.

But don’t get me wrong, I was a regular, curious teen. I tried a few things here and there, but wasn’t very interested in any of it. I would go to parties sober and just watch everyone – a lot of them were out of control. By my senior year it became hard for me to cope, having friends hurting themselves with drugs. I started to separate myself from that group of people. I realized that drugs break people – they can become lost.

I started to use my art to demonstrate what I’ve seen, and how I think drugs can affect people’s lives. I want to help people.

My Uncle (Lauren Montgomery)		Self-Portrait in Mirror (Lauren Montgomery)

Chelsey (Lauren Montgomery)

Some artists believe that drugs can help inspire them to do great work. How do you feel about this?
I believe that it’s so important to live our lives in reality. On drugs, you’re not you – you become the drug. Your art becomes the drug and I don’t want this. I want to show people that you can be creative and produce beauty on your own, without the influence of substances.

What would you say is the ultimate goal for your art?
If my photographs inspired people in some way, I feel like I’ve done my job. I’m not sure if I have a huge, specific goal. I mean, if one of my photos was featured in some art magazine or somewhere where a lot of people could see it – that would be a pretty substantial moment for my career.

I want my art to be about my own experiences as well as others’. I’ve lived my own life, and seen so much – I have a lot to show to the world.

"The Last Judgement".

Last Judgement. Central panel of the triptych. 1500s. Oil on panel. Akademie der bildenden Künste, Vienna, Austria.

"Paradise"

Paradise. left wing of the Last Judgement triptych. 1500s. Oil on panel. Akademie der bildenden Künste, Vienna, Austria

"The Garden of Earthly Delights - Hell".

Hieronymus Bosch a very influential artist of his time, one must look closely to understand what he potrays in his paintings which seem very morale valued and spiritually lead.


















Hell. Right wing of the Last Judgement triptych. 1500s. Oil on panel. Akademie der bildenden Künste, Vienna, Austria.

"Visionary Art"

A look into visionary art of artist with a higher insight to art and the meanings of each artwork created. The term Visionary Art could be said to define artworks that are directly inspired by non-ordinary states of visual consciousness, or that depict a world of such expanded or intensified imagination that the only comparison that can be made is to such states of consciousness. The earliest Visionary Art may have been imprinted onto the rock surface of cave walls. In the 15th century, Hieronymus Bosch painted fabulous and terrifying otherworlds; his Garden of Earthly Delights is unquestionably Visionary Art.Visionary Artworks intimately relate to altered states of consciousness brought about by mind-expanding materials or spiritually-enhancing life experiences. This seems inevitable considering that the visionary trance state draws its energies from the deepest recesses of the subconscious mind.

"One makes oneself a visionary by a long, immense, and reasoned disordering of the senses."

— Rimbaud

LSD, case study

Nine drawings

These 9 drawings were done by an artist under the influence of LSD -- part of a test conducted by the US government during it's dalliance with psychotomimetic drugs in the late 1950's. The artist was given a dose of LSD 25 and free access to an activity box full of crayons and pencils. His subject is the medico that jabbed him.

First drawing is done 20 minutes after the first dose (50ug)

An attending doctor observes - Patient chooses to start drawing with charcoal.

The subject of the experiment reports - 'Condition normal... no effect from the drug yet'.

85 minutes after first dose and 20 minutes after a second dose has been administered (50ug + 50ug)

The patient seems euphoric.

'I can see you clearly, so clearly. This... you... it's all ... I'm having a little trouble controlling this pencil. It seems to want to keep going.'

2 hours 30 minutes after first dose.

Patient appears very focus on the business of drawing.

'Outlines seem normal, but very vivid - everything is changing colour. My hand must follow the bold sweep of the lines. I feel as if my consciousness is situated in the part of my body that's now active - my hand, my elbow... my tongue'.

2 hours 32 minutes after first dose.

Patient seems gripped by his pad of paper.

'I'm trying another drawing. The outlines of the model are normal, but now those of my drawing are not. The outline of my hand is going weird too. It's not a very good drawing is it? I give up - I'll try again...'

2 hours 35 minutes after first dose.

Patient follows quickly with another drawing.

'I'll do a drawing in one flourish... without stopping... one line, no break!'

Upon completing the drawing the patient starts laughing, then becomes startled by something on the floor.

2 hours 45 minutes after first dose.

Patient tries to climb into activity box, and is generally agitated - responds slowly to the suggestion he might like to draw some more. He has become largely none verbal.

'I am... everything is... changed... they're calling... your face... interwoven... who is...' Patient mumbles inaudibly to a tune (sounds like 'Thanks for the memory). He changes medium to Tempera.

4 hours 25 minutes after first dose.

Patient retreated to the bunk, spending approximately 2 hours lying, waving his hands in the air. His return to the activity box is sudden and deliberate, changing media to pen and water colour.

'This will be the best drawing, Like the first one, only better. If I'm not careful I'll lose control of my movements, but I won't, because I know. I know' - (this saying is then repeated many times).

Patient makes the last half-a-dozen strokes of the drawing while running back and forth across the room.

5 hours 45 minutes after first dose.

Patient continues to move about the room, intersecting the space in complex variations. It's an hour and a half before he settles down to draw again - he appears over the effects of the drug.

'I can feel my knees again, I think it's starting to wear off. This is a pretty good drawing - this pencil is mighty hard to hold' - (he is holding a crayon).

8 hours after first dose.

Patient sits on bunk bed. He reports the intoxication has worn off except for the occational distorting of our faces. We ask for a final drawing which he performs with little enthusiasm.

'I have nothing to say about this last drawing, it is bad and uninteresting, I want to go home now.'