For a while now I have been thinking about writing a series of blog posts on Subject and Surface. These concepts have been key in helping me attain higher levels of insight into creative methods. The conscious understanding of these principles allowed me to refine my practice and skills. Knowledge is often hidden or discoverable in layers. So here is Part 1: Subject and Surface. In these posts, I will explore what I have learnt and how it has profoundly changed me as an artist and designer.
The subject is often seen as the holy cow of art and creation. It is confused by some as the very identity of art, design or making.
However, the Subject is just the interest of a creative - given expression. It is what the creative likes to explore or desires to share with the world. Forgive me for being so blunt, for I, like you have my own interests and preferred subjects. The subjects I like to explore. But subject matters little (pardon the pun). It is not the core, it is a part of it but not what makes something amazing.
At first, when I began thinking about this years ago I was offended that Subject was treated so tritely, as if unimportant. This is a difficult thing to accept at first because we creatives are so attached to the ideas and messages we weave into our creations. Here is the contradiction within this problem. Ideas and messages are important, Subject is important but to create something which moves someone. To create something that is beautiful or that has an impact we need to look beyond Subject to Surface. Surface, for the visual artist while for the other creative fields there are equivalent principles which mean the same as the canvas. The surface on which the subject is organised. For the visual artist, it is something with dimensional boundaries, for the performing artist, it is a body.
It took me years to see 'the canvas', to see the surface. I was reading an interview with the concept artist Sparth. In it, he mentioned how he was lucky enough to be able to see the canvas. This disturbed me for a long while. I kept on thinking about it. I could see the canvas! What did he mean? The canvas was right there in front of me. It looked back at me in its white aspect ratio. Here is some hidden knowledge waiting for discovery, if you bend your mind to it you can too. Hopefully, my words will help you find it.
It is the Surface where we find the key to creating better more powerful art and design. How we control graphic elements within the confines of boundaries is the way we move forward, for that is all there is. I end off part 1 with this thought, to illustrate how Subject is subservient to Surface:
How do we create something beautiful? Do we find a beautiful subject - perhaps a flower and paint or draw it? Will the result be a beautiful image? If I want to create a terrifying image do I just merely choose a terrifying subject? Will the result be a terrifying image? The answer is, of course no.
