There seems to be such an emphasis on seamless corporate identity in our visual culture and our society at large. How does this affect artistic production? Does it affect it at all? Do these constraints on production affect the artistic process? I think if not consciously addressed, I believe that a particularly desired outcome has the ability to constrain the element of experiment, play, and free exploration inherent in the creative artistic process. I think this is something that Picasso engaged with his entire career as an artist and the reason why I admire him. He was never complacent.
So, what techniques can an artist develop to counter these strictures? I think each artist grapples with these issues in unique ways and maybe this is an important question to ask artists. I have personally found that approaching a project in an open manner allows me to discover surprising possibilities. This open approach is intrinsic to automatism and the dérive. An analysis after the act. It can provide a foundation on which to develop bodies of work. I have incorporated some of these techniques in my own practice. The result has been a discourse between the conscious and subconscious mind, which I only recognized upon reading David Eaglemans's book Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain. In Eagleman's book, he discusses how the brain operates on so many different levels. Eagleman then goes on to say that the various levels of operation in the brain are not necessarily cognizant of one another. I feel that art that emerges from the obscure realm of the subconscious and subsequently developed through conscious dialogue engages more of the whole mind than work that is predetermined in every aspect. This interchange between the various thinking processes of the mind may have the potential to contribute to more robust intellectual growth in the artist.
As argued in this blog, an artistic process rife in rich intellectual exchange within the artist can affect both process and production of the artist. By extrapolation, I would propose that a further intellectual exchange within communities at large could potentially contribute to an interchange that has the power to countermand the pressure of a limiting product identity.
http://sstriepe.wix.com/fivedstudio#!blog/csf4
