A response to Chiharu Shiota's Uncertain Journey

we gathered in the same place to worship night shapes
omitted by all color & time

said the dark was a different country entirely

& our eyes, they were the stones there

“Once you leave the traditional constraints of anatomy behind, the way you deform can become a portrait of character or the inner psyche on a deeper level. This play with the human form marked the beginning of something new.” Renowned Romanian artist Adrian Ghenie is currently presenting two exhibitions at the Albertina and the Dresden Kupferstich-Kabinett. Working with a variety of materials and subjects, Ghenie explores the personal, the political, and the art historical, fusing these discourses into expressive abstract and figurative works of art across multiple mediums.

Green Still Life, was made in İstanbul, a reflection of green gardens and forests. I used a monotone, light and dark green. The arts and humanities are essential to the human experience, as they provide a way for us to express ourselves, connect with others, and understand the world around us. They also play a vital role in economic development and social cohesion.

An environmental disaster was unfolding as I was working on this painting. It was the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland, in March 2024. I had been listening to news reports about the crisis, and it began to subconsciously influence the way I was completing this painting.

Lacuna was the second piece of art I started after ending a decades long ‘separation agreement’ with art, and the first I completed. The word lacuna can mean a hiatus, a gap, a hole, an absence, a chasm, etc., and titling the piece Lacuna, in part, refers to the long span of time where I wasn't sure I would ever return to art - yet a vital period that has marked and deepened my life and my understanding of what my art, and what art as a whole, is about.

For me, making art is the way I understand the world we’re living in and my place in it. The value of art to all of us, in the making or the appreciation of it, is incalculable. The Creative Process celebrates this. I’m particularly interested in the meeting point of art and science, fiction and truth; when art sits at these intersections I believe it can reveal new truths to us, take us to places we could not have otherwise gone. For this reason The interdisciplinary approach taken by The Creative Process is so important.

I chose to draw friends hugging or simply being with each other where it is intimate - not romantic...but intimate still. The image with two women was based on the grief I was (and still am) going through when my closest friend of 46 died suddenly. Her loss left a huge hole in my life. The loss of friendship is not talked about enough. For me...I believe that continuing to focus on the human figure in all its beautiful forms is a vital way to celebrate the arts. Because without the human interaction in the arts and the contributions we make in the arts then our world would be flat and colorless.

This work represents movement and grace. I used oil to capture the delicacy and strength of nature, fusing realism and minimalism with a touch of oriental art. When looking at it, you will feel a deep tranquility and awe at the subtle beauty. It is a piece that will bring a serene and contemplative energy to any space, inviting the viewer to immerse themselves in a moment of peace.

My work is all about capturing the raw essence of social injustices and struggles, shedding light on significant occurrences that shape our world. Through my art, I strive to be a voice for change, advocating for love, tolerance, and understanding across all boundaries of race, culture, and beliefs. This drive to create impactful art stems from a deep-rooted passion to inspire positive transformations in society, sparking conversations and actions that lead to a more empathetic and harmonious world.

My inspiration comes from my everyday life. How can I use normal things to transform them into something else, something more. Drawing allows me to explore this domestic world wherever I live; I need to carry some pencils and paper. I like drawing simplicity and immediacy. Sometimes, one of your drawings attempts to cross a line, and this normality becomes something different, something that can grab people's attention. Then, this familiar world becomes something magical.

“Even the Poles Move” is an ongoing body of work that explores the emotional and spiritual reactions to change through the physics of magnetism. The title references how something as seemingly stable as Earth’s magnetic North and South poles have radically changed positions over time.

My inspiration for my art is my body and how she experiences living in between cultures.

Give me a fury,
with rusted metal whiskers
and nostrils heaving flame,
something nether-worldly and gnarled.
A beast, that dare I give up on the world,
stares from the darkened corner
and considers eating me
if I do.

My work is always linked to nature, poetry, childhood and surrealist travel. Work must always be connected to nature. A renaissance where man and nature must coexist and live together. An inspiring nature must be the driving force.

I wanted to explore the tension between form and abstraction. The profile of the figure emerged naturally as I layered textures and colors, almost like it was waiting to be uncovered. The swirling blues are meant to feel alive, like waves or currents, capturing a sense of movement and transformation.

I make art to see what the world might look like in art. I am a New York-based artist. I received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Bard College and an M.F.A. from Yale University. I have exhibited in numerous exhibitions and have worked in various public and private collections, including the permanent collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. I live with my family in Brooklyn, New York.

I am interested in creating a rich layering of sources: a poetic language where systems of generation and communication are fused to form new languages, continuing to use the tools of the mixed media formats of painting, photography and installation. I am looking to reveal the fractal mirroring of roots, veins, minerals and bone, incorporating multiple layers to reveal the interplay between various life forms representing the cycles of life, death, and rebirth in both our physical and metaphysical worlds.

My work refers to the history of the luminous surface and investigates what it means today, especially since the backlit screen dominates our vision. My attention is on the transformation of common materials by using light and color. I imagine many of the other creatives on this platform have considered the importance of transformation.

After a few years, a seed and then a seedling and finally a sapling rose from Alice’s ashes. I waited each year for the bud to come and then bloom. And it was not a flame tree, with its fiery leaves, but a cherry tree, small with red twigs and in the summer cherries the red of toy soldiers and flowers of white. I ate a cherry each year and each year it was sour and pulpy, its skin hard and thin. Each year I planted one in our backyard which was wild with blueberry bushes and pale blue forget-me-nots overgrown and tangled. We had stopped tending the garden. To tend was to care and mother preferred the lawn unruly, the flowers blown.

We are all creations, human be--ings who are connected to one another and in tune with the Universe. Uni--Verse. One Voice. We mirror one another and our reflections enable us to see who we are to ourselves as well as one another. Our creative expressions, also mirrors;, enable us to empathize to better understand ourselves and the world around us.

In the beginning was the word and it was borne on the breath of Spirit. Just how that spark of spirit is born within us, how it is nurtured by our impressions, sculpted into phrases, how it is shaped-- its rhythm and language-- remains unknown. At what moment does it slip from our lips, does it flow as a river from our hearts, ink from our minds. How exactly does it unfold on that brilliant horizon, that full moon of revelation. 

Art helps me love people. Everyone looks beautiful when they are dancing. The process of creating art invites one to explore themselves, their values, instincts, and aesthetics and develop sensitivity as to how we interact with the world around us. Viewing art invites audiences to be curious about other perspectives. Through art, we can better understand how and why people do what they do. It develops our sensitivity to subtext and context. Art enhances empathy for ourselves and each other.

The Creative Process resonates with me because it aligns with the values of preserving and celebrating the richness of human creativity and culture. By exploring the arts and humanities, we can foster deeper connections between people and communities, encouraging shared experiences and dialogue across cultures and generations.

We slip behind projections of prophecies
I tell her could mean nothing. We have

tendered a raging maw with hysterical
sleep. Tonight will be of modest dreams.

S.A. Aguillón-Mata is a Mexican-American author and artist inspired by tradition, circumstance, and whim. He has published the fiction and prose volumes Quién escribe (Paisajista) (IZC, 2004), Tratado (De una zona privada) (Pictographia, 2014), and Envés (UANL, 2016). His work also features in numerous anthologies, compilations, and literary magazines, both printed and web-based, in Mexico and the USA. He has both curated and participated in contemporary art shows in Cincinnati, OH, where he resides.

The arts are fundamental to humanity’s existence and survival on the planet because, in addition to showcasing creations and teaching techniques on how to create, they broaden human perception and thought. Through techniques and methods of thought, one can better perceive the directions of the world and gain an idea of ​​how to act or anticipate situations with previous experiences from other ancient but similar eras. One can also increasingly explore the techniques of effects and technology, which are increasingly present in the arts and in humanity’s daily life.

O
supplication,
o
fresh woven
voice
of
forced
supplication,

In my reality, Nature is the purest expression of God (not in a religious way). As we are an integral part of Nature, it acts as a mirror to our inner world, revealing at every moment its profound intelligence, beauty, and infinite mystery. Nature teaches us how to dance with life, embrace uncertainty, and move gracefully within the chaos of change.

Sleep falters,
thoughts gather in the dark
like a thick fog,

Arts, culture, and the creative process help us connect with each other and share how we experience the world. It’s a way to challenge ideas and welcome differences.

The arts and The Creative Process are important because they allow us to connect. Art is a byproduct of the artist connecting with something bigger than themselves. In my case, I connect with nature, and the outcome is a painting. If the connection is complete, then the resulting picture contains a record of that, and a discerning viewer will perceive that and make yet another connection, completing the cycle. Art is a shared energy, and the artist is a conduit.

In light of our world's exponential growth through AI and technology in general, the arts and humanities have never been more critical to our continued growth as a species. Without the arts and humanities to bring us into stillness and contemplation, we would be left with purely materialistic, physicalist views and miss out on the truth of our oneness.

Rosemary Burn is a British figurative painter based in the UK. Her works have been exhibited widely in Italy, Germany, the United States, and the United Kingdom and are held in several notable collections.

On a physical level, we have the ability to influence only as long as we are alive.
We are alive as long as we are in an environment that can support our life.
By destroying the environment, which is a necessary condition for our existence, we deprive ourselves of the ability to influence.

My work is driven by spontaneity and intuition and I have to restrain myself sometimes from throwing everything at the painting. However, I also like to paint purely for the act of painting, and the tension I feel between the two is where I need to find the right balance, hence the name of this painting.

My heart is a river And like a river
I cannot enter myself in the same way twice
I carry your river in mine–one heartbeat at a time

The arts possess the unique ability to simultaneously present multiple perspectives that can spark challenges, create community or prompt profound questions. As someone recently observed and shared with me, 'Your work makes visible what we are all feeling.' This encapsulates the power of art and the creative process: to bring to the surface the often-unseen or unresolved dichotomies of the human experience – joy and sorrow, strength and vulnerability, humor and anger, beauty and darkness. I believe as a society, especially in this age of extreme opinions, algorithms and the loss of civil discourse, art can speak to the complexities of our shared experiences.

Creativity is our fundamental, inherent need - it defines us as humans and serves as a unique way of self-expression. We must cherish and nurture this trait as it is essential to our survival as a species. Art is a universal language that eliminates artificial borders between people, offering a powerful tool to address the crucial issues for our civilization in a profoundly unique way. For me, as an artist, it is invaluable to have access to the insights of the leading voices in the creative field, to feel the relevance, and to have the opportunity to share my thoughts. I believe that adding perspectives of young creatives into this platform will not only enhance its reach and add a fresh perspective but also build a bridge to the future. Every child is an artist, free from constraints or prejudices. As a mother of two, I draw immense inspiration and positivity from my children.

She is sitting next to me on the carpet in my living room and I tell her I was attracted to her from the moment I heard her sing and I knew together we could make music and love, and in response she shows me the LP in her tote bag, Jazz Raga, where inscribed in the inside cover in blue-ball point pen it says “To Jo Rae- the swingingest lady on air, sincerest Gabor Szabo,” and she tells me, You could be like Szabo, famous and inspired, and I could be Jo Rae, and together we could experience musical nirvana, and she leans forward and her long hair brushes against her cheek and she pushes it back from her face and the gold bangles slide up and down her slim arm, and she says, will you play for me? and I say yes, yes, because I’m thinking I'll do anything, anything, if only she'll let me kiss her, just once, or twice, and she says…

Setting and historical note: The following story takes place in 1st century Rome, during the reign of Gaius Julius Caesar, colloquially known as Caligula. The year is approximately 38 CE.
SCENE I.
NARRATOR: With a swift, anxious tread, comely Drusilla proceeded through the lavish halls and chambers of the new mansion on Palatine Hill. Under other circumstances, she might have been waylaid by any one of the two-score retainers that her brother the emperor routinely kept on hand. Most everyone knew that Gaius Caesar’s second sister was by far the gentlest member of the imperial family. Her sweet and indulgent smile drew petitioners like moths to a flame. But that morning she strode more quickly and frowned more deeply than usual. Even Agrippinilla, with all her quiet authority, struggled a moment to secure the girl’s undivided attention.

I am drawn to The Creative Process because it resonates with my belief that art is both personal expression and an evolving conversation. I believe that images are not merely representations, but catalysts for introspection, provoking reflection and challenging perception. This project feels like a natural extension of that pursuit: an opportunity to share my vision with others who, like me, value the subtleties of individual perception over the noise of passing trends. It might also be interesting to consider how different perspectives shape the narrative of the human experience.

The light in the window must give you a courage,
lights are not faded away yet, children shine in streets,
the Western wind will color them gold, every mother
feels her child as the rays feel the way out of darkness,
mother’s voice echoes in the dark: Where are you, Lord?
Where is my son? Where is my daughter? Where is their kingdom?! 

Film Director

Art is never enough. The problem is now and it’s still not solved, but we don’t need to be scary or mean. You can engage people gently. Art, of course, is a way to get people engaged and to touch people.

JONATHAN YEO

What are you trying to do with a portrait? On a basic level, you're trying to communicate something about the essence of who someone is. You're trying to figure out who they are, not necessarily who they present themselves as. The two things can quite often be different. You're trying to find ways of showing that through their face, their posture, or any other context. My instinct is always to try to reduce down to the essential elements. We read faces. It's obviously very, very deep in our DNA, really our survival instinct. We are programmed to read faces in a very fine-tuned way.