We can't help it. It's in the nature of perception.
We each look out on the world from a unique point of view,
through a filter which colors and deforms everything we see.
The spectacle of life is so engrossing
that we forget we are sitting in the darkened theater of the mind.
When the lights come on we may blink,
but are only for a brief moment dimly aware of ourselves.
Windows are a way of including in the experience
a reminder of the voyeuristic nature of what we are doing:
looking in from the outer darkness, seeing without being seen.
Art is like fishing.
The artist baits his hook with a piece of tempting flesh,
sinks the barb with a jerk of something new or disturbing,
but can only drag us from our unconscious depths
with the steady pull of beauty.
but can only drag us from our unconscious depths
with the steady pull of beauty.
But we want to be hooked!
It's good when the curtains of the mind are open.
It's good when the curtains of the mind are open.
We look into the dimly lit room
and sometimes we see inside ourselves.
So I keep repeating to myself,
This is a wonderful and thought provoking work Stephen. Thank you so much for sharing it here. I really enjoy the succession of shots, including those you chose not to post on Flickr. It reinforces a sensation of time, continuity, movement even... and really puts us out there, outside the window, hidden...
ReplyDeleteI also love what you write: not just words put together. You're on to something essential, with clearly much to say and the talent to write it.
The second paragraph about "The spectacle of life" gives a different depth and a coherence to this series. You make us take a Copernican step back, you make us watch ourselves watching...
Thanks for hooking our hidden truths and bringing them to light.
Lots of deep water fishes are left down there... so please, keep working that rod Stephen, I'll make sure I swallow hook, line and sinker ;)