Freedom 

40x30, 2019

Available for purchase

Details from Freedom. 

Freedom is a ready to hang oil painting exploring spiritual freedom. Here we are bursting out of the religious chains which hold us back and prevent us from soaring into the heavens. Spiritual but not religious means that we are not bound by dogma or tradition but free to explore beyond the confines of "religion" and find something new, something freeing, something deeply meaningful. We may find that in the depths of dogma or tradition, not because someone told us to, but because that is where our heart met spirit.

Fiction, non-fiction or ...

We seem to be very dualistic in our thinking. Things are either fiction or non-fiction. Fiction is all that made up stuff that does not relate to any fact in any real way, such as the Hobbit, or Cubism. Non-fiction is all those factual things like science, history or Cubism. Oh wait. I mentioned Cubism twice. Is art a fiction or a non-fiction? I think in our attempt at simplistic, black and white thinking, we are overlooking one other category which is neither fiction nor non-fiction and yet it is both fiction and non-fiction. That is the category of faith.
 

But what is faith? Faith is meaning.

Some fiction is just pure entertainment as it should be. But hidden in that category of fiction are also those pieces which speak to a deeper level, it brings meaning to life and to the heart and mind. Now you are moving into faith. When that deeper level is reached it does not mean the author is a great genius of psychological insights and depth. What it does mean is that the human experience is such that we share vast amounts of feeling, insights and thoughts. By tapping into that shared experience, depth is reached and faith is kept.

Within the realm of fact, or non-fiction, meaning is gleaned not from the accumulation of data and information, but from understanding. Understanding needs to develop into wisdom through application. Now you are moving into faith. When new discoveries force a paradigm shift within the scientific communities do the old theories then become fictions? Certainly they are invalidated but they have not lost their meaning. That was one way of looking at the data set and from it certain conclusions could be deduced, now a new way is needed to look at the data set which may or may not create new conclusions. Meaning is maintained. Faith is kept.

Some works are born in faith which straddles the line between fiction and non-fiction. Any attempt to force them into the category of non-fiction stripes it of meaning and make it irrelevant. And likewise to push it towards fiction is to remove the wisdom and understanding that it contains leaving it empty of value.

For me, the Bible is a book of faith. To attempt to use it as a guidebook to the past for historical studies removes its meaning and makes it an empty book. To chalk it all up to works of fiction erases the insights and meanings which it brings to being human. For me it is not a work of fiction, nor is it a work of non-fiction. Any facts it contains are incidental to its meaning. Any stories it contains are not just moralisms, but speak to real human meaning. It is a work of faith which should bring meaning to one’s life. To read it any other way is to not understand it.

For me Art is a work of faith. I am creating something real in a real place at a real time. All of that data about me, my artistic career, my place in history, etc. can be compiled and biographized and that is not a bad thing, but it is not my art. Art is not a fiction although it is created and holds a special place in my being, and perhaps only my being. But it is not make believe. It is real but not is a scientific, quantifiable way. It is real in the same way an experience is real. Everyone who rides that roller coaster leaves with a different experience. And yet it is a shared experience but not everyone likes it. Art is a faith thing because it transcends fiction and non-fiction into the realm of meaning, of experience.   

Learning to find that place of faith in our dualistic culture is not easy. Religions turn it into theology and legalistic judgments. Politics turns it into an “us vs. them” mentality. Science says “this is the only way it can be.” Faith is meaning and finding that meaning is a personal quest for each person. Some find it in family, some in sports, some in work, some in church, some in… well the list can as varied as the population. The important part is to break the dualistic thinking and realize that faith is not an either/or proposition but a both/and. Faith is that which brings meaning to you regardless if you find it in a movie, a book, a lecture, a community or a political party.

On the Edge

I walk on the edge

of humanity

Masking my insanity

as normalcy.

Not giving in to

the whispering fears

Of voices in my head

            calling out "Don’t Fall."

I respond with a smile

and hold tighter to that edge.

I walk on the edge

of icy cliffs

Clinging with pickax

            as to life itself.

Not giving in to

the whispering fears

Of voices in my head

calling out "Don’t Fall."

I respond with a smile

and hold tighter to that edge.

I walk on the edge

of space

Sucking air in a helmet

            as the world spins below.

Not giving in to

the whispering fears

Of voices in my head

            calling out "Don’t Fall."

I respond with a smile

and hold tighter to that edge.

I walk on the edge

of words

Expressing without clarity

as I discover my rhythm.

Not giving in to

the whispering fears

Of voices in my head

calling out "Don’t Fall."

I respond with a smile

and release myself over the edge.


Poem is from "One Year in the Mountains"
Copyright David Corbet

Walking the Coast

The coast.

A beach, not the sandy vacation beach of suntans, bikinis and kids with sandcastles.

The beach with the cold water, rough rocks and seagulls that crap on everything and everyone, including the drift wood logs that some poor shmuck keeps trying to turn into bonfires. That beach, that coast.

A man walks, no, shuffles along. His feet prints are two long ruts dragged in the sand. Follow those ruts back and you will run out of time before you run out of rut.

On closer inspection it is evident that the man is old, aged, ancient and beyond. He moves one foot and then the other, and again and again and again. It is not a step as much as a plowing the fields, but no corn will grow here. He left the corn far behind and a long time ago. Maybe so long ago that is was not yet corn as we know it in the hundreds of varieties, but rather just the maize of the ancients. That is old, but not nearly as old as this poor individual who shuffles along. But don’t be deceived he is not the poor fool who tries to build bonfires out of water soaked logs. No, he is far wiser then that. He is the one who sees the future and the past and knows the prophecies, not those cheap bible house prophecies about Babylon and dragons and the end of it all with trumpets and hosannas, no the prophecies he knows are far more profound. They are the kind that the Farmers Almanac wishes they had. They are prophecies of knowing those things that no human mind should know. They are knowing the number of rain drops which fall in the Amazon every hour and the number of the grains of sands on the shores, which he is very thoroughly checking at this moment. The corn has been counted, the stars have been counted, the rain has been counted and now the sand will be counted. Good luck, ancient man. We await your verdict with apathy. 

Copyright Protected David Corbet 2012

Seven Truths of Being

1. If you are not growing, you are dieing.
2. Growth means change.
3. Change requires input.
4. Input means consumption.
5. There is an upper and lower limits to healthy/productive consumption.
6. Waste is anything outside of the range of healthy/productive consumption.
7. Eventually the ability to process new input ends and therefore stops growing and dies.

 I will just toss this out there for now and let them diffuse into cyberspace. They really don't mean much, nor do they contain a moral imperative. They just are what they are and can be applied to just about everything that is.

Value: Economics or Meaning

This is a thought which I have had recently. It is one that is still in development and so a little shy on concrete principles or proof. At some point in human history we started to see each other, and by extension ourselves, as commodities. Our value and worth became coached in economic terms. A person's worth became tied to their economic potential. Success became gaged by ownership of possessions and their economic value. When did that shift occur? Or was it even a shift or just a natural extension of the industrial revolution's effects on human society? Certainly having the ability to provide both support and safety have been long sought after skills by both men and women. But wasn't that skill honed within a community all trying to advance the good of all for the advancement for the good of the individual?

I think perhaps the difference now is that the good of the individual overrides the good of the community. I will run the best and cheapest business in order to outsell and undercut my competitors and drive them out of business so that I will succeed. This last statement is all about the individual's ability to provide by out-performing. They are not bringing value and worth to the community, only cheapening the business class. Not that healthy competition is bad, it just needs to be balanced with a little community mindedness. Why do I need to open a new store if two already exist in the community that sell the same thing, just to try to drive them out of the market and show how "good" I am at business? Where is the value in that?

At this point perhaps I need to let the original thought simmer for a bit longer before I ramble on and on and turn it into a muddled mess. I guess the question (or thought) is why do we let economics dictate our worth and value, and not some other aspect of life?

Freedom and Responsibility

This is an excerpt from a posting in a discussion group at Fine Art America.

Free is a relative term. As a father I am free to do somethings but not others, as a husband the same holds true. When out in society I am free to act in some ways and not others. And the association with free is always changing. In Cali you used to be free to light up after a good meal, but not any longer. You used to be free to make a living off the land, but not any longer. You used to be free to homestead, but not any longer, (not even in Alaska). The idea of freedom changes over the course of time. We used to be free to live life without the intervention of the government, but not any longer. Freedom is always juxtaposed against responsibility. Responsibility is when you knowingly and freely give up some aspect of your personal freedom for the greater good of family, society or nation. I know people who don't want to give up their freedom of snowboarding to show up to work on time and they cant figure out why they keep loosing jobs. We are free to vote but we are also responsible for the outcome. If we don't like the results we are free to change them, but then we become responsible for the changes (if we wait for the next voting cycle or instigate civil unrest they all have consequences.) I am sure this is all assumed nonsense and I have no need to spout out about freedom and responsibility. If we want to be free to be one of the most powerful nations on the planet, then we also have responsibilities. Am I willing to give up some of my freedoms to make a better world: cheap art supplies, affordable studio space, the ability to travel to shows, plethora of museums and galleries that wealth brings to a city, time in my day to paint and pursue art... I am free but the flip side is I am responsible to use my freedom, even to give it up for the greater good, with a bit of wisdom. And the boy in the photo does not have to think about such things because he assumes his freedom to enjoy a summer day is sacred and protected by the adults around him who have given up personal freedoms to make that day happen; adults who make the tough, in the moment decisions that may be right or wrong but still have to be made then and there. It is no easy thing to be a responsible adult. I always thought that someday some elder would sit me down and tell me how to be an adult, but as I became one through trial and error I realized we are all more or less making it up as we go along. We try our best and hopefully learn from our mistakes, but we don't know it is a mistake until well after the fact. But if we move forward with growing wisdom and the desire to learn from our mistakes then we can grow into being decent adults creating those lazy summer days for children to have the freedom to enjoy without care or concern about safety or survival.

Life

Life is never the way it is supposed to be. There are so many things outside of our control, things we get blamed for and held responsible for, but in reality we have absolutely nothing to do with. As the old saying goes: life is unfair. But why is that? Why do we just sit by and accept that as part of life? Yes, life will throw curve balls at us, but that is different than intentional creation of scenarios where life has to act in unfair ways. How do we create a life, a society where trust, faith, justice and fairness are the defining points?

Happy New Year

Well another year is gone and another has come. But is today any different than yesterday? I suppose it is as good a time as any to make some changes to your life routines. It is a tradition to set some resolutions, but that is one tradition which I don't always participate in. Why? Because I am not any more likely to stick with resolutions because it is the first of the year than if it was the third month of the year. I guess what I am saying is... when you are ready to change your life to reflect that which you want your life to truly look like, then you will make those changes regardless of the calender. So use this first of the year as a catalyst if you must or use your own desire to shape and change your future and life to find fulfillment, whatever it takes. Just reach out for those hopes and dreams and make progress at finding happiness in everyday living.

Daav Corbet

Natural vs. Artificial

I was reading recently about the coming doom predicted by the Mayan calender. According to the theory in December 2012 we will move into a new era. Sort of like in the Chinese calendar moving from the year of the dragon to the year of the rat. Of course, some take this 2012 as a sign of Armageddon (which is Christian end time not Mayan end time) and then all of the conspiracy theorists take over and predict all types of horrible things. But in reality nothing so amazing is supposed to happen (cross our fingers). It is simply moving from one astrological frame of reference to another. In this new era, a new balance is supposed to be reached between heaven and earth, or humanity and nature, etc. You can Google it if you desire more details. This is all just a preface to some thought I had. As I was reading, the author of the article about 2012 pointed out the disparity of time. We live in time dictated by the clock, not by nature. Think about that for a moment.

Think about Nature and the natural flow to life:

1. Seasons
2. Birth/death cycle
3. Migratory cycles
4. Sunrise/sunset time frames
5. Eating when hungry
6. Subsistence living
7. Hunter/gather: nomadic

Natural living is the rhythms inherent in nature expressed through intuition and instinct.

Now think about artificial living and the flow of life it creates

1. 9-5 work hours (set work days) and long commutes
2. Clock time
3. Calender time
4. Money ordered existence: consumer mentality
5. Residential housing, private ownership
6. Existence (self worth) defined by career or ownership

Artificial living is through constructs created to shape life with ulterior motives dictated by external pressures not internal needs.

Now I know perhaps I have lost some of you at this point. No, I don't advocate going back and living in caves as hunter/ gatherers. But I do wish that we could allow natural rhythms to have a say in how we live and commune with each other. What if I could eat when I was hungry instead of at dinner time. If I was tired can I sleep in or will my boss get mad if I am an hour late, even though the extra sleep will make me more productive? Yes, there are easy abuses in this system. I think it takes a lot of trust in fellow humanity. Can I depend upon the other person to do their job? But does that matter? Look at the stock market. That is a completely artificial system built into and on top of other artificial systems. But even it has its natural rhythms. And will it collapse if I take a few extra minutes sleep? Can a company be run upon the ideas of natural rhythms in life and in trusting others to do their jobs? Or are we all that cynical and suspicious?

I watch these squirrels run around my back yard. Right now they are mating and eating and doing squirrel stuff. But in another few months they will begin to store up for the winter. Those who store up enough survive; those who don't die. Pretty simple. Apply that to humanity. Is it even possible to live that simply? Think about it. Think about what would happen if the tree charged the squirrel a percentage for the nuts. And the dirt, a charge for storage. And then some hawk had to be paid for security. Of course the tree doesn't want more nuts; it wants fertilizer. So the squirrel has to find a way to trade nuts for fertilizer which introduces the middle man and then of course, the bank who charges interest on the exchange rate. And now the poor squirrel has to gather twice as many nuts to pay all the fees, charges and taxes (because those hawks can't be left unsupervised and the banking system needs to be regulated and so they need a government). And still it may not be enough to make it though the winter because there could be fluctuations in the exchange rate that eats up all the savings. How is a man to make it in this new crazy world? This is a drastic oversimplification. Or is it? Can we simplify society, life, community, work, etc. to reflect the instinctual natural tendencies? Can we blend the natural and the artificial to create a balanced, harmonious life, taking the good that both has to offer? Or is this a crazy Utopian dream? Maybe 2012 when force and answer or maybe not.

Life Stages

Life has definite stages. When you are young they are not so obvious, but as you age and pass from one stage to the next to the next those stages become more evident. It is not as if you walk from one room to the next. It is more like changing seasons, the signs are evident if you are looking; but if you are not then suddenly you are in the midst of winter and not sure how it happened. Being self aware can go along way in preparing for the next season of life, and for making it through your current season with a little grace and wisdom.

Today my wife and I saw the ultrasound of our baby. This is a planned preganacy so we are happy that it is happening. But even so no amount of forethought can adequately prepare you for a new born coming into the world. We still have four months to go... and already we have a video of the boy moving about in his mommies tummy. Yes it is a baby boy. A new stage in life is developing before our eyes. We know it, see it, plan for it. but wow!!!

There are a million little things that you cannot even think of, let alone prepare for when a life change of this magnitude comes along. You just have to take it one day at a time with an eye towards tomorrow, do the best you can and then hold on tight. If you allow it, life can take you to amazing places.

First Spiritual Principle

I posted a list of twelve spiritual principles. In this post, I will attempt to add to the first principle:

• The interconnectedness of all things.

Within Eastern philosophy, and Buddhism especially, this is a basic principle. In the west it is a principle that is becoming more accepted through scientific study. In the study of statistics there is a game that is played called the "six degrees of separation." It states that within six moves or associations any two people on the planet can be connected. I know you, who knows so and so, who is connected to what's-his-name, who works with yaya's sister and yaya is the aid to the President of China. The interconnectedness of people. But that is still not quite what this spiritual principle means. In the scientific community, within quantum mechanics in particular, there is a principle called entanglement. It states (oversimplified and therefore much room for error) that when two particles come in contact they can become entangled. And then however one is manipulated the other "entangled" particle shows the same manipulated results. (Take a photon split it into two parts. Polarize one part and the other part, regardless of distance from the one being manipulated, will also take on the same polarization.) Now this is moving closer to the spiritual principle at hand. Take into consideration that everything has come from one event. Therefore, at one time everything was entangled. New energy is not being created or destroyed only changing forms. This brings us to the second spiritual principle. We will return to this idea in another post.

So the first spiritual principle: everything is interconnected. This can be understood physically and yet the world, the cosmos, is so vast that we cannot hold the complete interconnectedness of all things in our head at one time. We cannot see how it is connected. We can only believe that it is. This principle can also be understood metaphysically. God, or the One, or the Power that Is, or Energy, or Fate is moving things into position creating a master plan which is being played out with or without our consent. If we are religious then we have our own views and beliefs about this line of reasoning and where we stand on it. But now the idea of belief comes into play. We each set a burden of proof to our beliefs. Sometimes blind belief is enough (there's no burden of proof, or an authority figure said it so I will believe it). Perhaps the examples above are enough (or they will lead you on your own search either through science: quantum mechanics; or religion and philosophy: Buddhism) and then your burden of proof will be met. Or you may remain skeptical and need further evidence, something that has not yet come to light.

I understand that at this point, things are greatly simplified. But I feel confident that as I move through each principle with deeper explanations clarity will be obtained. So have faith (in that which you believe you can) and keep reading. Please feel free to post questions and comments.

The Perfect Human

I was thinking this week about humanity. We, as humans, are an interesting breed. On the one hand you see the most loving, humble and compassionate acts lived daily. On the other hand, you can find the most despicable, abusive, and harmful act carried out with a certain amount of disdain, that it sickens the soul. And that is just the social/psycho aspect of humanity. The human body is an amazing, awesome instrument, but when it breaks down or becomes addicted it is difficult to watch the results. Humanity is a paradox. From these premises, I started to think about what humans have thought or are thinking about ourselves.

In the past, it was thought that the first humans, the Golden Humans, were perfect. Their perfection was biological, sociological and psychological. It was not only the perfect human form, but the perfect human society, government and philosophy. But the perfection was lost with each seceding generation; the corruption broke down the society, the mind and the body. Perfection was lost and the result was a decaying human species becoming less and less with each passing generation. Even those who strive for perfection in one or more of the humanly characteristics could never fully recover what once was.

This is easy to see today. Genetic diseases are carried on and compounded with each new generation. Dysfunctional mental and social problems breeding even further dysfunctionality.

But then again: the fields of psychology, sociology, genetics are all new fields, even science as we understand it today is new in the grand scheme of human history. So maybe all of the ills which plague us today have always plagued us; it is just that no one mentioned it in the past in the scientific terms we look for today. Silence can tell us nothing. We do know that war, greed, corruption, love, compassion and sacrifice have always existed. But are the negatives on the increase and the positives on the decrease? Does the perfect human have yet to exist? In modern evolutionary terms humanity must always be striving forward. Modern science, psychology and sociology can now point to what may be, in some possible future, a perfect human living in a perfect society. Under the guidance of science, humanity can become greater and greater with each coming generation.

But then again: it seems things don't really change, only the accessories in which we dress ourselves.

Spiritual Principles

A year or so ago, I wrote out a list of spiritual principles, or the beginning of my spiritual philosophy. At this point, there are twelve principles on my list. I tried to keep them simple, but you will notice that those further down the list tend to be longer. I think simplicity is a virtue, but there are times when explanations are needed. At this point, I will just list what I have developed and then flesh them out in later posts with more detail.

1. The interconnectedness of all things
2. Energy is the only reality
3. Energy flows
4. We can participate in the energy flow (We can participate in reality)
5. Through participation we come to see (know) the interconnectedness
6. We are limited in our control of energy, but it is possible to increase our control through knowing the interconnectedness, participating in reality and having faith in that which is (I.E. belief in the energy [God])
7. Participation is not just metaphysical or abstract. It is also moral and physical. Real participation connotes real action. This is Righteousness: the right act at the right time. Although what is "right" may not always be evident; action is always better then inaction. But don't act in haste. Act with the flow to promote the flow to bring balance.
8. Living in the flow is a way of life. It begins in the heart with belief, in the mind with understanding (knowing and accepting) and in the body with action.
9. Life is not divided or compartmentalized. Psyche(mind)/body/spirit is one. Don't overemphasis one area to the determent of another. All three make the conscious person.
10. Through meditation we strengthen our spirit. Through exercise we strengthen our body. Through study we strengthen our mind. Yet we should not compound the illusions but rather use meditation, exercise and study to find liberation from the preconceived, to come to know the interconnectedness of all and the power of energy in all.
11. Love is the way of the heart towards peace and harmony; that is balance. It may never be reached, but the way will lead towards the goal. To live love is to live balance. If all is interconnected then love must be extended towards all: people, animals, nature, cosmos...
12. By releasing that which we think we can control we can truly come to realize what is in our control and how to extend control further. It will be realized that use of force or anger is not control or power but rather the way towards confusion. Acceptance of the ego as secondary leads to release, which is freedom to gain the enlightenment needed to see the interconnectedness and move towards true control/power. This is the way of humility.

Two Types of Artists

There are really only two types of artists in the world: Museum artists and commercial artists.


A museum artist is the "true" artist, or so they would like to call themselves. They are doing art for the sake of art, for the inspiration, for the cutting edge visual, for the seemingly thought- provoking creations. They are not "sell-outs" and they seldom make it. They are either a starving artist or bi-vocational.

And to the museum artist, the commerical artist shake their heads, walk into their studios and produce works of arts which are sold. They are living by their brushes. They have distinctive styles and modes, and they even may produce, from time to time, those pure expressions of their artistic aims. Seldom do they push the edge, but they get to do what they enjoy the most: their artwork. And they live through it and by it.

The art world needs both. We need the explorers searching for new ways to express, impress and create. We also need the others who take the art into the common homes across the globe. We need the community to be diverse and understanding. Art is not a monolythic idea, but rather a fluid and dynamic, shifting, living and breathing entity.

So what am I? I am an artist. I am not yet good enough to live by my brush alone, so I am bi-vocational (not willing to starve for my art). And as most artists, I have visions of grandure but temper that with a realistic view. I would much rather live by my brush and enjoy my life doing so even if it means I never gain museum fame. I guess I see that I am in this for the long haul, so each day I do what I can and enjoy the time doing it.