Liev Portfolio Photographs (2019) Released by FRAQUOH AND FRANCHOMME
Chief Executive Officer Dan Dimitriu Creative Director Iosif Trif Web lievarts.com Social facebook.com/lievarts Contact office@lievarts.com 2019, All rights reserved
INTRODUCTION Photography has changed drastically over its history. What started out as a technology of recording images with the sole purpose of documenting “ephemera”, has soon enough turned into an art form walking together with centuries-old arts like painting or dancing. As a medium, photography is a very powerful mean of communicating messages, despite its inherent “realism” (which is hard to break): it presents a selection the artist makes and thus is a way of expressing ways of seeing, it is documentarian, as it records short instances, thus acting like a diary and it can also be a form of expressing deep messages with complex meanings. The Liev Arts 2019 Photography Portfolio presents a series of photographs that have been taken in a period of several years (starting with 2007, but most photos having been shot after 2012) that document a general mood and atmosphere. On many occasions, the message of the images is hidden behind what is seen. Given that this is a collection, the viewer is invited not just to analyze the images themselves, but to also notice patterns and a certain rhythm and to think of the things that are not seen as well.
Photography is an amazing medium because it allows anyone to form an opinion and to have a very personal aesthetic experience, while at the same time, informed and critical aficionados can discover an image’s interesting underpinning messages and depths. A veritable photograph is an image that transcends the immediate involvement of the photographer and the contemporary viewers with the subject or the events and establishes a more lasting impression, one that can convey messages that expand our thoughts and vision of the world and of ourselves.
Art Hall,
Art Hall,
THE STUDY OF ART Art has many purposes, but the most meaningful ones are most likely to express the things we cannot touch, see or capture: emotions, states of mind and everything in between. Thus, art has a purpose of connection, as it allows the art “consumer” to connect with the artist and the other “consumers” as well, creating a symbolic circle of meaning. In this sense, art has an indirect purpose of educating. Education through art means the conveying of the emotional, intellectual and even spiritual needs of the collective and of the individual. Whether it is intentional or not, art always has a message and acts as a psychogram of the artist, of the society from which he comes and of those who respond to it. This is why the study of art is important. Learning about the inner workings of art helps us understand the structure of our emotional world and of the rules that govern its organization. Having a good grasp of these is essential for one’s own selfknowledge and for the personal and communal enlightenment and development. Therefore, it can be argued that art always needs to be subjected to strong criteria, which should be based on a solid, coherent and universal philosophical system. Discussions must be held and arguments made, always with strong, valid arguments as to what is good art and why certain works of art are valuable. Of course, the risk of falling into dogmatism is there, which is why flexibility and true listening and seeking to understand others are of utmost importance. The study of art is ultimately the study of our experiences and relation to the world and the divine, which is why it deserves a top spot in any community. Art and the study of art are two complementary fields which can offer a more complex view of the world and give us a deeper understanding of who we are.
THE HOME OF THE WORLD Every person has the desire to explore the world. To discover and go beyond the borders of the οἰκουμένη (oikumene) is what has been the driving factor for many of the strongest passions of the world. But, before engaging in a conquest of the unknown world, one must be able to know himself as the pronaos of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi said. While it may not be really possible to stand out from the world before getting to know yourself, it’s always important to never lose from sight that knowing the world without knowing yourself is really no knowledge at all. In this context, when talking about art, one of the most precious advices young artists can receive is probably that in order to create great art for the ages to come, one must choose as a theme of discourse something he knows of, his interests and passions and to explore those for a better understanding of himself and of the world. The self-critical aspect is not enough in art, as art is a form of communication not just with yourself, but with the world. It’s a way of establishing the ground for an inter-generational dialogue, a dialogue of ideas, emotions and events. Understand that you are both in the world, but that the world or a world is also within you.
Everybody in the land From the mountains to the sand Should hear and cheer That finally the time is here To go beyond the sights of old That we have come to learn to love But that we wouldn’t really mind To sometimes Leave behind And find a new and truer land Than the one we have at hand
Growth and development The passions of the world Are like diamonds and gold
ART AS TRUTH How do we know the things we know? This is a question that many people don’t really think about, but, once one does think about it, his entire world view starts to change. Most things we know are things we were “told” and which we have taken for granted, without having had experienced them ourselves. Sometimes, we can make those experiences and see whether they check out - in chemistry for example. Art is a way of communicating truths that we all know, but unlike other fields, we can’t check in a physical manner. The sensitive nature of our inner lives makes our relation to art to be so sensitive as well. In this sense, when powerful art becomes vulgarized we tend to be defensive about it. Sometimes, we get angry or confused because deep down, we feel that the truths that should be out there in the world are either turned upside down (which means that we’re living in a world full of lies) or are mixed with false information, which means that we must to a lot of hard work in order to figure out what is true and what is not. Art can be truth, but it isn’t always. More often than not, art is sophistry: it’s falsehood disguised as philosophy and truth. And this is why we should make sure to cherish and value great art. The truth (the good) needs to be protected!
ART AND SYMBOLS The world is a tough environment that is hard to navigate. In this sense, because the world isn’t always clear, people need symbols to guide them. A symbol is a (visual) representation for something symbols make sense only when one holds the key to decode them. Once a symbol is decoded, it can lead you somewhere and help you make your journey better and safer. Forest trail symbols, which are marked on trees are a good example of the importance and mechanics of symbols. Once you know what symbol you are looking for, you can guide your trip with its help. Every time you reach a new manifestation of that symbol, you will see the next one, which will take you to your next pit stop. In art, decoding symbols is easier than it may look, but it is nevertheless an exhausting and complex task: one always needs to have a good understanding of the world and of the purposes of things - once you understand these, decoding symbols starts to become easy. The purpose of something is found in its difference from the other elements that may be similar to it. Great art works with existing symbols, but often individual works of art create their own symbols (based on existing symbols), which unravel as the “consumer” becomes deeply involved with the work at hand.
There’s a globe within a globe One can see at the meeting Between dusk and dawn
The roads of the world Made from water or from stone Reflect in each other In the sparkle of the light
ART AND TIME The relation between art and time is a very powerful one, as it crosses several levels of thought. Firstly, there is of course the notion that great art is timeless: for example, even 2000 years or more after its creation, people from all around the world can still relate and connect to ancient Greek art. Sometimes, a work of art is considered valuable because it is old, becoming not just a work of art, but a historical object. In such an instance, the artistic value, whether it is higher or lower becomes a secondary criterion for its worth. However, the main relation between art and time is based on the concept that art shapes memory. Art has the capacity to shape the memory of entire collectives, creating and defining history and, by extension, the present and the future. There are many events that have taken place which are remembered by the general public because of works of art that were either created to remember that particular event or that were created during that event, becoming a marker of the moment. The same idea applies to people: there are many people who are known in the collective remembrance in one form or another not because of hard records or oral history, but because of the way in which they were portrayed in a painting, literary piece or sculpture. Thus, art is not just a sidebar to history, but a defining element of history.
ART AND RELIGION Because art is so strongly connected with the deepest experiences of human life, it can be clearly said that it is profoundly connected with religion. Most religious cult items, such as statues or icons can be considered to be borderline art, as they don’t focus so much on connecting people based on a universal experience, but are rather objects that open a window to another world to the person using them. Religious items are a physical manifestation of the connection between the person or the group and the divine. Art, on the other hand, deals more with the personal and the interpersonal, rather than with the personal as it relates to a higher power. In this sense, art separates from religion, but is a part of the way people construct religious meaning in their lives; may it be through books, architecture or painting. Art helps us to understand ourselves and each other better and to build on our experiences (both our experiences and those of others). These lessons are obviously a part of the bricks we use to complete our religious experience. Art should thus not be treated as a religion, but it should be treated as an integral part of the fabric of our inner selves.
MAN AND NATURE As any scientist will tell you, nature is governed by a set of rules, which, sometimes have exceptions, which are usually organic. Any development in nature is organic. In the fields of cultural and artistic studies, most theoreticians (as well as artists) define society as the opposite of nature: if the natural world develops organically, the world created by people is the unnatural, the synthetic. And yet, studying history, anthropology and culture, one cannot help but notice that the social realm is more often than not just as organic as the growth of a plant. Societies appear, grow and develop in a rather linear manner and, if there are no strong outside sources of a breakage, such as a war or a change of landscape, things usually go in a rather expected manner. Maybe from this we can draw the conclusion that we are more natural than we’d like to think, but also that our cultural part, our reason can help us shape our lives and the lives of our communities. Humans are a hybrid of nature and culture like a sphinx. The sphinx has the head of a human and the body of a lion and humans are the same, our body is animalistic and full of drives, but we can control it (not suppress it) through our minds and our reason. In art, the sphinx is often portrayed on a bridge: it asks a question (it is a question, as the shape of the creature is a riddle itself) and if the person can answer it, they will pass, if not, they may not live. Solving the riddles of the human experience is, in daily life, what grants us our soul and the way in which we will continue our quotidian whereabouts.
SCULPTING STRUCTURES IN ART AND LIFE A famous Latin quote says “mens sana in corpore sano” - a healthy mind in a healthy body. The meaning of this expression is not one that needs much explanation: in short, one should work both on their body as well as on their mind in order to have a prosperous life. However, it seems that, despite the countless “self-help” books available, the idea that one can sculpt their mind is a foreign concept to many. We know how our bodies work and what needs to be done in order to shape them to be healthy and aesthetically pleasing, but it seems that we have forgotten that the same rules apply to the mind as well. By cultivating one’s mind with the help of art and wisdom, one can improve the way they see the world and their relations to others and to themselves. When doing this, while the content one absorbs is of course highly important (its quality and meaning), it is also absolutely imperative to create a system on which this content is built. Many cultivated people don’t have a structure. We can think of it this way: one can have lots of beautiful and spiritually enriching flowers and decorations, but if they are placed in chaos, they won’t bring as much as they would if they were to be arranged in a system, based on a hierarchy and logic. In the same way, we should adapt a structure that works (maybe others have tested it) when it comes to our inner enrichment. This way, we will be able to place order both in our day-to-day experiences as well as in our inner manifestations.
THEORIES OF KNOWLEDGE AND ANCHORS IN REALITY Philosophers and thinkers often discuss the very heavy topics of what is real and what is true. In this sense, many perspectives and views have been elaborated and yet, after thousands of years, the conversation continues. In this sense, art can prove itself to be an “anchor in reality”. While it may seem that art is the ultimate “abstraction” in the sense that it is “far from reality”, art can actually be a strong connector to reality, because it is a cultural product that manages to essentialize concepts. Through storytelling, symbols and other elements of artistic construction, art can in fact be the most “concrete” thing around, as it speaks directly to our experiences and to the ways we perceive the whole world. Thus, it can be argued that different forms of art and different waves of artistic expression can represent different approaches to exploring “reality”. Good art is both clearly historic and atemporal at the same, it is both universal and particular and communicates something in a way that is subtle, complex and clear, through a code that decodes itself as the elements that compose it unravel and interact with the spectator's own experiences and journey.
Dissolving substances Recreate in the darkness Turning chaos into order And the night umbra into rays of light
The flow of the world Is the fabric For the kindling of things It draws a circle and makes a square And blasts the fire’s strongest flare And once all of these unite A torch for the centuries brings the light
ART AND HISTORY In philosophy, there is a widely accepted idea that there is no possibility or need to create a history of philosophy. This sounds as an odd concept, but reading the philosophers who have not only shaped the world, but who have actually spoken of things of much importance, one will realize that indeed philosophy has no need for a history, as each generation was confronted with the same ideas and the truth has been the same almost everywhere. Many times, upon reading a philosophical text, one will notice of how much actuality it is. The writings of Plato, Marcus Aurelius, the Medieval writers, the Jewish fathers, the illuminist authors and many others all seem to be coming from a “school of thought” rather than from different places and times. Art is, in many ways, philosophy in action and thus, while art history teaches us a lot about the evolution of society and the movements that have taken place at a group level, the work of art themselves, if they are true objects of art, seem to be timeless. While each painting, musical piece, film, or anything else does of course have a “local color” that describes the space and time in which it was created, ultimately, art is beyond that. It is also of great interest how many works of art are received during their time: some remain obscure until discovered decades later, while others enjoy a wild success both during their time and afterwards, although the latter kind is usually very polarizing during its time. It is of course hard to place yourself outside space and time when making considerations on a work of art, but nothing is impossible.
Ni izquierda ni derecha entre el dĂa y la noche es el equilibrio eterno.
Under the Luna The cracks are revealed And all comes to light What once was concealed
CONCLUSION It can be argued that, since people have always created art that art is a need that transcends space and time. Art is a way of expressing what is inside our souls, it’s a way of captivating and sharing emotions, feelings and thoughts. In essence, it is one of the most important human activities, as it marks and validates our presence in the world and our experiences. Art is a process, it is an expression of a dynamic “thing” that evolves and changes. Art can also be a connector, bringing people together; and a teacher, showcasing some of the most important lessons about the world in a direct or hidden way. Because of all these reasons and more, great art is of high value, as it really represents a treasure that crosses human boundaries. It’s our door to understanding humanity and to being part of it. Art is a tool that helps one learn not just about the world, the artist and the world in which he lived, but also about one’s own world and, more than that, about himself.
2019