When We Give Ourself Permission To Hear The Backstory .. Real or Imagined ......
GENTLE READERS ... Countless are the times I remember picking up an antiquated object .. or a foto from a past era ....
and by all that is Holy, these items speak to me. Now, am not saying I am guided by voices ... but cannot deny there
is connectivity goin' on. Do I remember the time I found that 1929 Dime in my pocket change, in 1955 .. and said to my
Uncle, "Say, Uncle Nunzio ... read "how old" this dime is and tell me what else is "that" old." My Uncle peeped the coin
and told me that he was older than that coin .. and said, "That tenna-cen' piece coulda been somebody's very lasta bit 'o
money back inna 19 anna 29 .. and it was use-ed to buy food fo' th' baby insteada a good cigar !!"
TO THIS DAY .. it is difficult for me to see a very-old object or foto and not automatically attach a story to it .. especially
if the authentic backstory is missing. Even armed with that knowledge .. very-often another backstory comes thru my
pipeline .. very-much built out of blocks of fiction ... whether I like it or not. It is important for this writer to acknowledge
that there is a mighty-huge difference between telling a lie for the sake of profit, to avoid penalty or punishment, or to
boast that a substance is not harmful, when, in reality, the substance could heave the canoe into the terrible wake of a
passing ship ... and ... telling a lie for the sake of a story .. a fictional story that fires-up thought and imagination.
SO WHAT ABOUT those folks that insist that, "A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words." ? BECAUSE SOME PICTURES TELL
THE ENTIRE STORY ... These pictures (in my opinion) fail to show respect for a viewer's intellect and imagination.
VERY OFTEN, way too much of the picture tells the beginning, the middle, and the end of a story. When this happens, the
viewer remains just that -- a spectator. When the picture tells only part of the story, the viewer has a chance to become
a "participant" with the story .. in as much as the viewer as participant gets to utilize his/her thoughts and imaginings.
INCLUDED IN THE ATTACHMENTS are two paintings by N.C. WYETH and one painting by N. ROCKWELL. To my vision, WYETH's
work allows me to be a participant with the painting .. something that some of us find to be enjoyable. ROCKWELL's work
tells nearly everything that cries to be known about the content of his painting. And, as a spectator to ROCKWELL's painting,
I have no need to fire up my imagination or, to send my thoughts into motion. ROCKWELL has done everything FOR me.
And WYETH ?? ...... WYETH allows some blanks to be filled-in by the viewer ... or is the word "Participant" more fitting ?
SO .. my thoughtful readers .. where is all this going ? My response is very-much influenced by the vision of one too-many
THUMB-ASSES ... thumbing away at his/her, handheld, battery-powered, sending/receiving, info/gossip, gaming device ...
all-the-while failing to self-activate any fresh thought OR engage the imagination. To be truthful ... THIS is not a behavior
i would wish for a child.
LET's GET BACK TO Paint.Net ...... have you looked for the THOUGHT or IMAGINATION BUTTON for PDN ?? You won't
find either. But .. the more you use your own .. (like the more you use your perceptual skills, the more powerful your
"Seeing" will be .. as well as your own artwork) .. the depth of your Creative Thought and Imagination will flourish.
.............. patric cafaro
SPACER
