Dirk Johan Koene / ArticlesArticles

A patchwork of thoughts.

"All art speaks the same language; the language of the Great Beautiful. The language of eternity, of beauty. Everywhere that nameless red thread, sometimes so clearly visible.

Besides films and poetry, whose language and message often seem clear to me, there is of course the indescribable Painting. Humbly waiting for the right observer, to surprise them with the splendor of existence. Painting is an refined language - hidden within brushstrokes is the required Mastery so fragile.

The Painter is no one. The Painter has no name. Some people aspire to be him, few succeed. He only has a personality insofar as it serves Art.

Everything is centered around."

This line of resolving someone's ego, something that is now so often highlighted by many new age-gurus, can be directly experienced in the creation of a painting, for example. A certain alchemical transformation takes place in which time, energy, and mana are sacrificed as exponents of someone's Ego to gain mastery in return. An aspiring painter clings to what they think they know, and the more they work on their skill, the more they can remove that mental leap between the concept and the physical form.

Many artists therefore praise the freedom taken in children’s art; because there is so little Ego involved. The urge towards Dadaist work is therefore very understandable. But in my interpretation of the creative process and the development of someone's art, I might almost say that Rembrandt ALSO was a Dadaist — because I suspect that, especially in his later work, he does not actively think much about his work. His mastery, and everyone’s mastery, is an embodied phenomenon, mostly based on intuition. Even artists who measure and compare a lot do this, in a sense, on the basis of intuition, of an embodied process. To some extent, it takes a lot of practice to open a door within yourself and let the water of the Muses flow — that happens automatically once the obstacles have been removed.

For me, that truth is guiding: human thinking能力 is very limited, with mine foremost. We often know a few things about some matters, but what do we really know? But, in intuition, arising from the evolutionary process and mainly something unconscious in itself, lies the wisdom of generations.

Therefore, Artist, know yourself, and lose yourself. Your Art will thank you.