It’s Okay For Now 01.10.2024
It’s okay for now.
Enter
The maze— why we like to stay lost— where do we find ourselves in the maze? Art is like a maze. It’s amazing! Could be like a maze— following desires, not our own.
I came to the idea of exploring Deleuze's concept of the fold ……. very briefly— is a
concept that rejects fixed meanings and embraces fluidity, constant becoming, and
multiplicity. I arrived here through my interest in my artwork not having a fixed meaning,
connecting to other artworks I make, my interest in layering and complexity, and I really
like Deleuze's thought. I used to play a mental game in my head where I would be
walking past a street or when I was cycling and think to myself, "What if in some
alternate reality, one of the many I may have, I go down that street and something
totally different or life-changing happens?” This thought process mirrors Deleuze's
philosophy of becoming—where identity is continually unfolding—shaped by
possibilities, a multiplicity. These potentials, while they may not happen, are interesting
to play with regarding the idea of possible alternate realities and even identities. That
identity can change. We, I think, grapple with the narratives of who we are and how weshould be. And discovering for ourselves what a life could be uniquely ours and not
preconstructed.
In this paper, I will explore the philosophical concept of ‘the fold’ by Deleuze, which
emphasizes becoming and resists finality. How does this fold into the artistic process in
the art of Simon Hantai, Katharina Grosse, and Karla Black? How do they challenge the
idea of fixed meanings, allowing for a continually changing and fluid interpretation
between artwork and participant? I am going to call this the quasi-participant, a term I
will use to describe someone participating in its meaning-making as a form of
continuous becoming rather than physically partaking.
Simon Hantai literally folds and unfolds his paintings that capture many becoming’s, or
ways of being, through a single method. Katharina Grosse expands painting beyond the
canvas, merging into spaces and merging objects, always striving to break the
boundaries of what painting is. And Karla Black focuses on the materials in her work as
non-static, reflecting Deleuze’s notion that everything is constantly transforming.
This paper, much like the fold itself, will not follow a linear path. It will emerge, layer by
layer, as I explore how these artists engage with the concept of becoming—of never
being fully formed but always in the process of unfolding. In doing so, I aim to reflect on
my own practice as a painter, where meaning is never fixed and where the work is
always open to reinterpretation.
A fold is always folded within a fold, like a cavern in a cavern.
(Deleuze, 2010, p. 6)Contemplating my next move. A decisive moment, a signpost pointing vaguely in all
directions like a fragment from a dream. I am fearful of the uncertainty yet allured by the
possibilities that unfold. There’s a curious sensation running underneath; it leaves me
questioning what it is I am experiencing. Is it real or a product of my imagination?
These are just some of the thoughts that occur to me that I think about. I am sure many
more will unfold as I write this paper.
The Baroque trait twists and turns its folds, pushing them to infinity, fold over fold,
one upon the other. The Baroque fold unfurls all the way to infinity.
(Deleuze, 2010, p. 3)
In thinking about the relationship of how things are connected, changing, and how we
consider our relation to the world, I have chosen to explore Deleuze's ideas of the fold
from the book The Fold: Leibniz and the Baroque. From what I understand of the fold,
we take things in, fold in—what is outside of us—and we fold this out into the world.
This process is ongoing, and what is folded becomes part of an infinite layering,
merging with previous folds. It offers a perspective of identity as fluid and
ever-changing, where meanings are never fixed but in constant transformation.
Baroque art reflects this notion—where distinctions blur and boundaries dissolve. In this
style, the floor becomes the wall, and the wall becomes the ceiling. The physical and
non-material realms are intertwined, with no clear separation between them.
(This is taken from the introduction to my MA Fine Art research paper).