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Narrative Possibility: an Introduction To, and a Move Towards, Integral Creativity

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Narrative Possibility: an Introduction To, and a Move Towards, Integral Creativity Narrative Possibility: an introduction to, and a move towards, Integral Creativity By Paddy Plasto A thesis presented to the University of Western Sydney Hawkesbury in partial fulfillment of the requirements of Doctor of Philosophy September, 2005 © P.Plasto 2005 STATEMENT OF AUTHENTICATION The work presented in this thesis is, to the best of my knowledge and belief, original except as acknowledged in the text. I hereby declare that I have not submitted this material, either in whole or in part, for a degree at this or any other institution, …………………………………………………………. (Signature) CONTENTS INTRODUCTION………………………………………….……..p1 1. Ways of Knowing 3. Making a Difference? 8. Methodological Summary ORIGINONE …………………………………………………….p13 14 Originone (a) 16. Originone (b) 18. Postscript (2004): Quotes and Footnotes 19. Originone (c) 23. Originone (d) The Story: Making It Up 24. Originone (e) (or the Discovery of a Paradox) 27. Originone (f) Forewords: Winter 1999 28. Originone (g) Points of Departure: creativity, cant and cantata 33. Originone (h) Integral Perspectives and Possibilities Jean Gebser 35. Ken Wilber 36. Terry Sands 44 Originone (i) In Order to have Order, Order is Created, but.. 45. Originone (j) The Narrative Possibility Approach to Painting 46. Originone (k) ORIGINTWO…………………………………………………….p47 47. Origintwo (a) 51. Origintwo (b) State, process, event, and product. April 1999 52. Origintwo (c) Identifying the story/teller 56. Origintwo (d) Visual metaphors, impermanence, and a Papuan event: spacetime first, sentence later… 58. Origintwo (e) Making Meanings 61. Origintwo (f) POSTMODERNISM: the tenuous tenure of (word) rules i 64. Origintwo (g) Ode to the type-writer and all postmodern utterances 65. Origintwo (h) Don’t drink drive it’s a laundry detergent: myth and ideology 68. Myth 70. Modern world myths 73. Mythologies 76. Postmodern, myth/ideology 77. Postscript ORIGINTHREE…………………………………………….…...p78 78. Originthree (a) the Gessoflecting Paintbrusher 79. Originthree (b) 83. Originthree (c) Expressing the ineffable: thinking and making 87. Originthree (d) Halls of Frames. Halls of Fame. Andrew Wyeth 88. The Wyeth Center. A brief biography: Andrew Wyeth 90. A Short Description 91. Originthree (e) Supports and Consorts 92. and touching ground 94. The Gessoflecting Paintbrusher: creating the beautiful, skillful, meaningful, innovative plot 100. Originthree (f) Raising realistic hands offering multifarious fruit 107. Postscript 107. Leonardo Da Vinci- from the “Treatise on painting” 109. Originthree (g) 110. Originthree (h) Integral art, creativity and interpretation ORIGINFOUR…………………………………………………..p118 118. Originfour (a) Forewords: it’s Winter again (2000) With further dilemmas of meaningful exchange… 119. Originfour (b) Taking off the lid…getting ready for another coat 120. Originfour (c) 121. Sharing a possibility: the same piece of stone 128. Recollection 131. The Narrative Possibility Approach to painting ii ORIGINFIVE…………………………………………………p132 132. Originfive (a) 135. Be my guest 140. Originfive (b) Parallel Visions in Space, Time and Light 141. Art and Shlain 151. Originfive (c) Thinking it Through (to start from finish to finish from start) 148. Originfive (d) Shlain and Gebser 151. Revolutionary Art and Narrative Possibility ORIGINSIX ……………………………………………………..p152 152. Originsix (a) 153. Continuity and Contents: ‘…the traffic between storytelling and metaphysics is continuous.’ 154. The Language of Home 156. Originsix (b) 157. Originsix (c) 160. Potentials Creative Groups 163. A work of Art 165. Origins, or the discovery of a paradox 167. Work of Afterwords 170. Originsix (d) 171. Meetings, and the Sacred in Art 172. Meeting with David Bohm 174. Meeting with Terry Sands 175. The Meeting 176. Originsix (e) The Transition 177. Individual SPACE, SPACE, space, space 178. At Home: the Strategic-Studio-Space ABCDEFGH and I ORIGINSEVEN…………………………………………….……180 180. A brief introduction 183. Narrative Possibility: Creativity, Philosophy, and Research Process 184. Scanning and Layering 186. The (Narrative Possibility) Images Method and practice 188. Narrative Possibility Paintings iii 201. Narrative Possibility and Integral Art 202. Alex Grey, 1953… 205. Narrative Possibility and Integral Consciousness 210. Magic Structure 213. Mythic Structure 214. Mental-Rational Structure ORIGINEIGHT…………………………………………….…..p217 218. Towards Integrality 223. The Narrative Possibility Approach to painting 224. Making a Difference 229. Postscript 2004 BIBLIOGRAPHY….…………………………………….……...p233 GLOSSARY………………………………………………….…..p246 iv ABSTRACT Narrative Possibility: an introduction to, and a move towards, Integral Creativity is an exploration of creativity and a creative exploration, and it is a search for meaning and making which carries as backpressure an individual, societal, cultural, and global need for change. Change, as I have interpreted it, is a change of consciousness. While the exploration is multidimensional and multidirectional it has as its foundation a process of communication that is, I think, essential in and to all aspects of our present and past, showing and telling. Implicitly and explicitly we define ourselves and all that we encounter by stories. I am using the term ‘story’ to mean showing and telling in all its forms but my approach, although it is predominantly aligned to Western interpretation, is an aperspectival inquiry into and through word and image. Narrative Possibility: an introduction to, and a move towards Integral Creativity, comprises and integrates stories by a layered methodology that includes diverse perspectives from theorists and artists. Among these: David Bohm, Andrew Wyeth, and Leonard Shlain are important, but, in the aspects of their work which focus on Integral Consciousness, Jean Gebser, Ken Wilber, and Terry Sands are most prominent. My exploration also incorporates stories of my lived experience as student, mother, visual artist, teacher and researcher, as well as fictional stories and poems. And, in both methodological structure and the writing and content of this work (in documenting its progress and in recording the unfolding visual work of several of my students,) I bring to this thesis my philosophical approach: Narrative Possibility. Narrative Possibilities are stories that do not have preconceived outcomes. Narrative Possibilities originate and manifest in and through (and require, therefore, a methodology that encompasses) Creative Events, States, Processes, and Products. Narrative Possibility is a disciplined method that unfolds a story to a point in which all aspects appear to cohere, and yet this aspect of the story is untold: there are no definitive words or marks which obviously or even abstractly point to completion. Creativity, according to David Bohm, is a natural potential largely blocked by the way civilization has developed.1 I accept this premise and suggest that Narrative Possibility is a creative approach to integration and that it is a personal, social, and spiritual move towards our possible evolution. 1 D Bohm, Changing Consciousness, Harper Collins, London, 1991, p. 163. v LIST OF WORKS and ILLUSTRATIONS Title Page, Paddy Plasto, Thumbnail The Tryst (2003), Acrylic on canvas 6. Paddy Plasto, The Tryst (2003), Acrylic on canvas A3 39. Ken Wilber, Four Quadrants (1996), Diagram 45. Paddy Plasto, The Tryst (2003), Work in progress A3 79. Andrew Wyeth, Christina’s World (1948), Tempera on panel, 32x47¼ ins. 80. Study for Christina’s World (1948), Pencil on paper, 14x20ins 81. Andrew Wyeth, Wind from the Sea (1948), Tempera on panel, 19x28ins. 82. Andrew Wyeth, The Sauna (1968), Tempera on panel, 24¼x28 ins. 93. Andrew Wyeth, Adrift (1982), Tempera on panel, 27x27⅛ ins. 95. Thumbnail of Adrift (1982), Tempera on panel 100. Paddy Plasto, Title/date unknown. Watercolour/ink on paper, 40x30cm. 101. Paddy Plasto, Title/date unknown. Watercolour/ink on paper, 40x30cm. 102. Thumbnail of painting (p. 101.) Thumbnail of painting (p. 101.) 103. Thumbnail : developing image in The Tryst: from form to detail (see p. 6.) 104. Thumbnail: found form changed (see p. 6.) 112. Pablo Picasso, Drawing (1926), 31x46.7cm. 131. Paddy Plasto, The Tryst (2003), Work in progress A3 139. Odilon Redon, The Buddha (1905), Pastel, 90x73cm. 142. Lucas Samaras, Mirrored Room (1966), Installation 155. Paddy Plasto, Reflections (1984), Watercolor and Egg Tempera on board, 50x40cm. 159. Paddy Plasto, And yet relation appears (1989), Acrylic on paper, 55x40cm. Paddy Plasto, From Alchemy to Algeny (1989), Acrylic on paper, 55x40cm. 166. Student C. ‘Night and Day’ (1994/95), Pastel on paper, A4 Student C. ‘Merwoman’ (1994/95), Pastel on paper, A4 vi 170. Paddy Plasto, Reorientations (1992), Acrylic on canvas, 30x20cm. 175. Paddy Plasto, The Meeting (1992/3), Acrylic on canvas, seven panels 30x30cm. 182. Student A. Untitled (2001), Charcoal on paper, A3 183. Student C. Untitled (2001), Acrylic on paper, A4 183. Student B. Untitled (2001), Pastel on paper, A3 203. Alex Grey, Artists Hand (1997), Oil on wood, 16x16ins. 204. Alex Grey, Dying (1990), Oil, 44x60ins. 211. Figure 5: Nubian Battle (1300 BC), 213. Figure 19. The Prince with the Crown of Feathers (1500 BC), 223. Paddy Plasto, The Tryst (2003), work showing detail, A3 NARRATIVE POSSIBILITY: STUDENT WORK 122. Student C. First wash (2000), Acrylic on canvas, A3 123. Student C. Second working (2000), Acrylic on canvas, A3 124. Student C. Third working (2000), Acrylic on canvas, A3 125. Student C. Fourth working (2000), Acrylic on canvas, A3 181. Student H. (1985), Watercolour
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