Glossary
To provide the most enjoyable viewing experience on this website, I've included a brief glossary of important Art and Psychology terms used within these pages.
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In addition, I've included related hyperlinks for anyone interested in a more in-depth analysis; not solely to reinforce these concepts, but also, to provide a broader view, beyond my own work, that includes samples from other artists.
Primary Subject:
The Shadow: an unconscious aspect of the personality that does not correspond with the ego ideal, leading the ego to resist and repress it (Definition from Oxford Languages)
Related Subjects:
Anima: The inward feminine aspect of a man's personality that is in communication with the unconscious. The Anima is both a personal complex and an archetypal image of a woman, within the male psyche (Definition from the Pacifica Graduate Library)
Artistic Style:
Amalgamism: the practice of mixing or blending different genres, styles, techniques, influences and/or media in a cohesive work of art, or in a body of work that explores the same concept, theme or idea in different modes of expression
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from the root, Amalgam, which is a mixture or blend
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by extension, an Amalgamist is any person whose professional inquiries involve or require the mixed application of concepts, ideas, procedures and/or methods to arrive at a result
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Note: I adopted the term, Amalgamist, for two main reasons; first, because my body of work (which is largely investigative) has never developed linearly, fitting easily into strictly defined themes; but also, to simplify saying that I am a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary artist who works in mixed media.
Primary Genres (2):
Surrealism: a late 20th-century avant-garde movement in art and literature which sought to release the creative potential of the unconscious mind (Definition from Oxford Languages) ~ Leading figures include Salvador Dali and Joan Miro.
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from the First Surrealist Manifesto, 1924 (by Andre Breton): pure psychic automatism, by which it is intended to express the true function of thought, conveyed in the absence of all control exerted by reason, and outside all aesthetic or moral preoccupations​
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Abstract Expressionism: an extension of Abstract Art that is focused on subjective emotional expression, with particular emphasis on spontaneity (or, automatism) ~ Leading figures include Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning.
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Note: The surrealistic drawings and paintings on this website often oscillate between Surrealism and Abstract Expressionism, overlapping in expression through the use of Automatism and Association, defined below.
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Trivia: Although the work of Jackson Pollock popularized Automatic Art (otherwise known as Action Painting, at the time) in the 1940s, Automatic Art (or, Automatism) was actually first introduced (creatively) by the Surrealists, in the 1920s, borrowing from the Psychoanalytic Techniques of Sigmund Freud.
Adopted Techniques:
Automatism: the avoidance of conscious thought or intention when producing works of art, often relying on mechanical impulse or subconscious associations instead. (Definition from Oxford Languages)
Association: a mental connection between ideas or things, or, the action of making a mental connection (Definition from Oxford Languages)
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Note: In surrealist artwork, both conscious and unconscious associations can can be triggered by a single mark, detail or object within the image, spontaneously influencing subsequent details. However, unconscious associations are also considered automatic and are often referred to as Free Association (seen below).
Free Association: in psychology, a psychoanalytic technique for the investigation of the unconscious mind, in which a relaxed subject reports all passing thoughts without reservation. (Definition from Oxford Languages)
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in art, an automatic creative process by which a single mark, detail or object within the image can spontaneously suggest another without any apparent connection.
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Note: The primary difference between pure Automatism and Free Association is that the latter can feel like a guided process, even if the artist is not consciously aware of how or why. Whereas, pure Automatism is usually trancelike and completely involuntary; not necessarily random; but instead, free of rational controls.
Other Featured Genres:
Expressionism: artistic style in which the artist seeks to depict the subjective experiences that objects and events arouse within a person, rather than their objective reality. The artist often accomplishes this aim through distortion, exaggeration and/or through a bold application of color. (definition from Encyclopedia Britannica)
Representational Art: Artwork that clearly depicts real objects. (definition from The Phillips Collection)