Blank Canvas

Across cultures and civilizations, the notion of white or empty space is confusing and mystifying to say the least.

Often reduced to a transitional state where emptiness is waiting to be filled; it is also associated to a sign of incertitude, and even the impersonal immensity of the universe and all the anguish it provokes as symbolized by Herman Melville’s Moby Dick.

The perplexing views are rather easy to reveal: simply ask people to put a white sheet of paper in front of them, look at it, describe their thoughts and feelings, and finally do as they will with it … Most would describe something very common: Blank page syndrome or the psychological inability to bear a blank document.

My position on the matter adheres to that of a Hindu myth: a blank space is a source, a place where all foundations of the cosmos can meet. Rather than seeing it as something empty, I envision all the potential it encloses. It is like a stagnant lake, that carries the possibility of life underneath its surface.

It is a canvas where lights and shadows of our unconscious meet in a dance, animating the plane surface with shapes, movement and even textures with a synopsis and a message that ultimately make this simple white space a standalone presence.

This medium is a place of giving for the artist, whether he chooses colors and brushes, a simple pen, or plain fabric to convey his vision.  He fills it with the breathings of his heart, making it the expression of “an adventure of his soul” (W. Somerset Maugham); a window into his twisted fears and deepest (in)certitudes; his childhood memories, his disappointments, his joys, his innate and experienced tastes as well as his culture and understanding of life. Every stroke of the artist is filled with meaning, something that ties it to the whole of the piece, establishing a dialog between positive and negative space; creating a “condensation of sensations”-Henri Matisse.

My upbringing was filled with artistic influences, music, paintings, books, textures… you name it. And I have always felt like the beautiful thing about art and design is that they create this suspended moment where the emotions of their maker and those of their beholder meet.

These moments are a very important part of my creative cycle, which is why I conceptually thought of this journal section of the website as a window into my universe, a place of exchange where I would share my thoughts, inspirations and impressions periodically, and see what you have to say.

-NN-