I recently got to thinking that I wanted to write my thoughts down so I can put some light to them and be able to reexamine them as I move through life.  I had recently heard, on NPR, that an artist, in painting or other forms, is trying to show what they see, in their art, what the audience didn’t see or interpret.  That came home, to me, when I was looking at a building, in Spokane, yesterday morning, as I was waiting for the start of a race.

As I was looking at the building, I was observing how the sun was making the building look interesting to me.  I thought of taking a picture of the building but though about how could I transmit what make the building interesting to me.  I mentioned this building to a friend of mine, who suggested writing out what I saw.  So I am doing that here.

To give you the setting, I am looking at the building before 9:00 am, with the sun approximately at my 5:00 and high over my shoulder, with a building between the sun and myself.  The shadows going down the front of the building appear to extend 6-8 inches from the abutments causing the shadows.  A center, curved abutment, has a bright white line of reflected sun just off center down the length of the center of the building’s front.  Squared shapes give the shadows some depth over other shadowed lines.  The building’s color appears to be yellowish sandstone with glass.  I don’t know the name of the style of architecture but I do know that it’s a classic form that suggests the building was constructed in the 1950’s.

What interested me wasn’t any one aspect of what I saw, but it was the total picture of the building that impressed itself on me.  The angle of the sun, up in the southeastern sky, helped in how I perceived the building.  Where I was standing, in front of the building, has to be a consideration.  It was, also, a clear and very bright sky that morning.  Bright enough that it was notable to me.

How do I express what I saw?  I am aware that no two people experience the same thing in the same way.  How I viewed the light as it illuminated the building wouldn’t be similar to other people.  The visceral reaction couldn’t possibly be the same.  Somehow, I have to create a similar, known, emotional reaction to what I saw and trust that it will be interpreted in the way I see it.  Take a look at the featured image below.  I see how the lighting makes that area look interesting.  It’s a combination of natural and artificial lighting that are having an effect in the picture.  However, how would it look if I filtered the picture to appear cooled instead of having its warm tones? Did Edvard Munch create The Scream with the intent to unnerve the viewer with its intense nature and colors?  Would The Scream have the same effect if pastel colors were used?

Back to the building.  This was a personal experience to me.  It is based on my appreciation of art, my life experiences, and how I was choosing to look at the building.  I wasn’t looking at the building as just a building.  I was looking at it as a form of artistic expression.  Will I look at that building the same way next year?  Will I appreciate how the building and light interact with each other next year?  I don’t know for sure.  What I do know is that my life will be different then.  Change is certain to happen.

I’m still going to explore how to express what I see.  In the meantime, I am going to blog about things I observe in life and around me.  Sometimes there will be rants here.  Other times, I will be expressing thoughts and exploring them.  I don’t know if I want to go in a certain direction, yet, and I am going to let things fall where they may until I decide on a direction or not.

Until next time…