Truth or Lies: An Artist's Quest for Meaning

Published in FFWD Weekly, May 19, 2011
http://www.ffwdweekly.com/article/arts/visual-arts/truth-and-lies-7464/

"Istoria" - New paintings by Carl White on view at Jarvis Hall Fine Art until June 25.

Calgary-based painter Carl White finds it amusing that Herodotus, a fifth century BC Greek historian, is known as both the father of history and, ironically, of lies. It is well known that he could not resist telling a good story, even — and, one suspects, especially — if it was not true.

White’s new body of work features fragments of different points in history, but like Herodotus, he’s no stickler for accuracy. “I am not so interested in whether the stories are true,” he says, “I’m interested in whether they resonate with us in some way.”

His disregard for facts seems contradictory considering his fascination with history, stemming from an intense curiosity as a child and a quest for truth. But the tactic of using lies to reveal a deeper human truth should not surprise us — after all, isn’t that what myths, legends, fables and folklore are for?

Istoria is an art historian’s treasure trove: Rich in iconography and mythological narratives, it has a way of teasing history buffs, providing them with visual cues and hints in the titles of what they are looking at, without giving it away. This level of ambiguity relieves his work of the pretentiousness that might normally be associated with this type of art.

Featuring what appears to be Greek or Roman portrait busts and majestic equestrian horses with ghostly remnants of the riders that once rode them, White’s paintings are essentially artifacts that speak to us through the layers of paint — ones that have become so intertwined it is almost impossible to determine where one begins and another one ends. 

Like walking through Roman ruins, one can imagine the artifacts in that heyday. But White has no interest in displaying them in a flattering light.

“Perfection is boring,” he says. “I came to the realization that there’s a difference between making pretty pictures and making art.”

Plato and Aristotle believed that for a piece of art to hold significance or persuasion for an audience, it must be grounded in “verisimilitude,” meaning how much something resembles truth, reality or likeness to nature. White’s art is certainly grounded in this, but he sees little merit in realism for realism’s sake:

“What’s the point of mimicking reality, when I can just go and see the real thing and it is so much better than a rendition of it?” Instead, he believes in creating images that transcend; in other words, images where the whole equals more than the sum of its parts.

Full of dualities and paradoxes — fantasy versus reality, evil versus good, historic versus modern, pristine versus tarnished, defeat versus triumph, aggressive versus fragile, White’s pieces serve as a reminder of what we are all capable of being. In his paintings’ frailty and imperfections, we see our own humanity, and in their beauty and grandeur, we see our — perhaps as of yet — undiscovered potential.

But despite the rich allegorical and historical references, White’s work is unmistakably contemporary in its execution. The subject matter may evoke painters of another era, but his expressive brushstrokes, spontaneous and at times violent splashes of exuberant colours, glossy finishes and drips of paint left to their own devices, along with his signature scriptural markings, are White’s — and White’s alone.

When asked about his process, the artist says he paints quickly. “Each layer feeds the next. I see the skin of the canvas as paint. Just as we humans pick up wrinkles, scars and bruises on our skin as we go through life, so do these works of art.”

Believing wholeheartedly in the integrity of the line, White strives to paint in an authentic way, but says this requires a willingness to not see the works as precious. For him, it is the act of painting that is important, not the painting itself. This explains his carefreeness in applying an almost Jackson Pollock approach in his final layers, without regard for spoiling the image beneath. Letting go of this attachment generates an authentic energy that would not be possible with even the slightest apprehension.

A pragmatist at heart, White acknowledges that true authenticity is tough to achieve, especially when you factor in real life and the fact that he has to be able to sell and live off his art, but nevertheless it’s that conscious intent that drives him to continually reinvent himself as an artist.

W - Daily Word Dose

Wean - 1. To accustom (a child or young animal) to food other than its mother's milk; cause to lose the need to suckle or turn to the mother food. 2. To withdraw (a person, the affections, one's dependency, etc) from some object, habit, form of enjoyment, or the like: The need to lose weight had weaned us from rich desserts.

Wield - 1. To exercise power, authority, influence, etc, as in ruling or dominating: The Governon wields much power over the legistlature 2. To use a weapon, instrument effectively; handle or employ actively: The brave knight wielded his shining sword in the battle; The mother wielded an egg whisk to stir her batter.

Wistful - 1. Characterized by melancholy; longing; yearning  2. Pensive, especially in a melancholy way.

Wreak - 1. To inflict or execute (punishment, vengeance, etc): The angry mob wreaked havoc as it made its way downtown, attacking innocent bystanders. 2. To carry out the promptings of (one's rage, ill humour, will, desire, etc), as on a victim or object: He wreaked his anger out on his staff.

Wryly - 1. Produced by a distortion or lopsidedness of the facial features: The portrait has a wry grin.  2. Abnormally bent or turned to one side; twisted; crooked  3. Devious in course or purpose; misdirected

Does Patriotism Breed Ignorance?

Within 30 minutes of Osama bin Laden’s death, Americans flocked to symbolic sites including the White House, Ground Zero and town squares across the nation to join the festivities, as though it were Cinco de Mayo.

Not only is rejoicing in someone’s death – albeit an enemy – in bad taste, it points to an even more troubling reality. On the one hand, this reaction is to be expected given that for the past decade this man has been portrayed as the face of terrorism. Ironic considering that only 3 decades ago he would have been hailed by the same people as a “freedom fighter.” It’s also worth noting that his actions haven’t changed, only his target has. 

What is most perplexing to me about the premature bask in glory exhibited by the individuals who participated in the public celebrations is their relentless unwillingness to question why there is such a pronounced hostility towards their country, not just in the middle east, but worldwide.

While I acknowledge that there are many Americans who are wide-awake, a vast part of the population seems to be suffering from a case of blissful ignorance when it comes to their government’s imperialist actions in the world. 

I believe this is rooted in the excessive promotion of patriotism in the United States. There is nothing wrong with loving your country and being proud of where you come from, but when it inhibits you from objectively analyzing your government’s wrongdoings, it can border on dangerous. Being blinded to these realities perpetuates violence and terrorism and prevents society from taking measures to end the cycle of hatred.

Yes, Osama bin Laden was the mastermind behind an unspeakable, heinous crime. And yes, 9/11 was the worst attack ever carried out on American soil. But we cannot live in a bubble and think that everyone sees it the way the West does. We must acknowledge that while we regard it as an act of unequivocal “terrorism,” a great many others regard it as “retaliation.” This is not to say the perpetrators of 9/11 are excused or that their actions were justified, but until we take a hard look at how our government’s actions are festering this level of hatred among others, we cannot guarantee that American civilians will not have to endure another horrific attack.  

As to be expected by conglomerates, these types of discussions have not permeated mainstream media. A politician cannot even broach the subject unless they want to commit political suicide. An American who dares to think in these terms is automatically shunned as unpatriotic and any outsiders who speak this way are accused of being anti-American, conspiracy theorists, or worse, terrorist sympathizers. As a result, it has become the elephant in the room that no one can address. I suppose the reason it is such a taboo subject is because we feel that by admitting that we are perceived as the aggressors by a vast part of the world, we are somehow saying that we deserved the attacks. We must rid ourselves of this notion. No innocent person ever deserves to die, but if we do not understand why it happened in the first place, how can we possibly prevent it from happening again?

We need to open our eyes and see that there is a fundamental disconnect between the United States projecting itself as a democratic state that champions human rights and fundamental freedoms and the foreign policies it adopts that have led to genocide and human atrocities of greater magnitude than most of us can even conceive. 

Let us look very briefly at some of the possible reasons why others around the world, not just Muslim and Arab countries would see the United States in a less than favorable light:

• Regarded as a symbol of oppression – The US government has trained and armed dictators and supported racist and brutal regimes and have displayed indifference to the pain and suffering these actions have caused. They have armed groups with notorious records of atrocities including the Taliban. Additionally they contribute to the political and commercial stifling of developing nations by selling them arms and profiting obscenely from the instability and perpetual states of warfare in these countries.
•  Placed sanctions with dire consequences – The US government has maintained murderous sanctions, not least of which was a sanction placed on Iraq in the 1990’s, resulting in at least partial responsibility for the death of thousands of children (the number depends on the source, but ranges anywhere from 170,000 to half a million).

• Irreverence towards the U.N. – When it comes to the UN, the United States seems to regard itself beyond International Law. The most blatant instance of this is the illegal war on Iraq.

• Domestic priorities before global obligations – The US was the only world leader that rejected the Kyoto protocol, an international agreement to reduce green house gases despite the fact that it is the world’s greatest polluter by a large margin: it contains only 5% of the world population but produces 25% of all carbon emissions. President Bush said it did not want to participate because it would cause serious harm to the US economy.

• Unwilling to contribute their fair share – When it comes to foreign aid, the United States ranks the lowest out of all developed nations. It designates a mere 0.1% of its GDP to foreign aid. Current UN target is set at 0.7% GDP. Additionally, out of the 0.1%, 50% is designated towards the middle income countries in the Middle East with Israel being the greatest recipient.

• Unwavering support for Israel – The US is highly criticized in the Arab world and elsewhere for backing up Israel’s illegal military occupation on the West Bank and Gaza through billions of dollars in military support.

So while the attacks on the US were misguided and just plain wrong, we must acknowledge that there are some legitimate reasons why people would resort to such desperate acts of retribution. Unlike what the media likes to tell us, the sites that were attacked were not chosen for their emblems of freedom and democracy, rather they are symbols of American commerce and American foreign policies, both of which have caused heaps of tragedy and ordeal to the developing world.

If we profess to respect human life and we rightfully mourn the loss of the thousands of people who died innocently on September 11^th, shouldn’t we place equal lament on the countless who have lost their lives at the hands of American injustices?

Just to re-iterate, I am not in any way trying to justify the attacks of 9/11 or excusing this evil crime against innocent civilians, but to think killing the leader of Al-Qaeda has brought us closer to safety is nothing short of delusional and short-sighted.  If anything, it has only served to exacerbate the problem in that it has given people a new impetus to attack the US. Even moderate Arabs are condemning the murder and the disposal of the body at sea and have elevated bin Laden to the state of martyrdom. As difficult as it is for us to conceive, we cannot ignore the fact that just because he is deeply hated by us, there is just as many, if not more, who regard him a hero. And not just extremists, but regular people who simply identify with this criticisms of the United States (perhaps they have lost a family member of their own in this fight). Until we acknowledge their suffering, as a result of America’s policies, no amount of diplomacy and no amount of money spent on the military will keep Americans from harm’s way.

Think of it this way, as individuals in society, most of us adhere to a set of moral principles. Whether we follow any religion or not, there is a kind of unspoken moral standard that we aim to follow, and we know, just based on experience that if we deviate from that, there will likely be negative consequences or what some people might call “karma.” Even children know the basic principle of “do onto others as you would have done onto you.” But being that we are flawed, many of us will commit an immoral act at one time or another, some more harmful and frowned upon by society than others. But generally, we understand that our behavior is wrong and although we do not wish to be punished or for anything bad to happen to us, we understand the laws of nature enough to know that it is a probable consequence. If I for instance murder someone, I expect their loved ones to hate me. I expect them to want to punish me. I may not like it, but it is perfectly natural for them to feel that way towards me. So why then, when we speak of immoral actions between governments and nations, do we not apply the same laws of nature? Why are we surprised when we are hated by our victims? When we commit acts of violence and oppression, it is preposterous to expect anything but a backlash. And the longer we engage in wars with other countries, the more long-term that resentment becomes.

As citizens, we can react one of two ways. 1) We can decide that we are not to blame because it is the government making these decisions, not us or 2) We can decide that not only do we have a right to hold our government accountable for its immoral actions upon others, we have an obligation not only to those who will be on the receiving end, but ultimately to ourselves, for as we have seen these things have a tendency to blow up in our face. And isn’t protecting our civilians the ultimate act of patriotism?

V - Daily Word Dose

Veto - 1. The power or right vested in one branch of a government to cancel or postpone the decisions, enactments, etc of another branch, esp. the right of a president, governor or other chief executive to reject bills passed by the legislature  2. The exercise of this right.

Vilify - 1. To speak ill of; defame; slander: The Republicans attempted to vilify President Obama, claiming he is a Muslim and not an America Citizen, but most voters did not accept the baseless claims.

Virulent - 1. Actively poisonous; intensely noxious: A virulent insect bite. 2. (Medicine) Highly infective; malignant or deadly: He came down with a virulent type of disease.

Vociferous - 1. Crying out noisily; clamorous  2. Characterized with or uttered with vociferation: The superintendent was a vociferous opponent of enlarging the school gymnasium.

Volition - 1. The act of willing, choosing or resolving; exercise of willing: He decided to enter rehab of his own volition.  2. A choice or decision made by the will

U - Daily Word Dose

Ubiquity - 1. The state or capacity of being everywhere, esp. at the same time; omnipresence: Many household appliances have become ubiquitous, such as the washing machine, fridge and tv set. Tourists with cameras are ubiquitous in Europe every summer.

Underlings - A subordinate, esp. one of slight importance: He asked his underling to do the dirty work for him.

Unduly - 1. Excessively: His mother was unduly worried when she didn't come home on time.  2. In an inappropriate, unjustifiable, or improper manner: The press was unduly critical of her speech.

Unequivocal -1. Not equivocal; unambiguous; clear; having only one possible meaning or interpretation: There was unequivocal proof that he committed the crime  2. Absolute; unqualified; not subject to conditions or exceptions: The dormitory curfew was unequivocal.

Unassailable - 1. Not open to attack or assault, as by military force or argument, unassailable logic, unassailable fortifications.  2. Not subject to denial or dispute: Shakespeare's genius gives his works an unassailable position in world literature.

T- Daily Word Dose

Tenuous - 1. Thin or slender in form: The threads of the spiderweb were tenuous. 2. Lacking a sound basis, as in reasoning; unsubstantiated; weak: He had a tenuous grip on reality. 3. Thin in consistency; rare or rarefied: The air at high altitudes is tenuous.

Toil - 1. Hard or continuous work; exhausting labor or effort: He toiled in the field day after day. 2. A laborious task.

Trove - A collection of objects: She dug through her treasure trove in hopes of finding her long lost earrings.

Trepidation - 1. Tremulous fear, alarm or agitation; perturbation: I felt another earthquake coming and I was overcome with trepidation. 2. Trembling or quivering movement; tremor.

Tumultuous - 1. Full of tumult or riotousness; marked by disturbance and uproar: The fand became wild and tumultuous as a result of teh game results.  2. Raising a great clatter and commotion; disorderly or noisy  3. Highly agitated, as the mind or emotions; distraught; turbulent.

S- Daily Word Dose

Scourge - 1. a whip or lash, esp. for the infliction for punishment or torture. 2. A person or thing that applies or administers punishment or severe criticism: The new police chief became the scourge of local drug dealers.  3. A cause of affliction or calamity: Disease and famine are scourges of humanity.

Shrewd - 1. Astute or sharp in practical matters: The shrewd businessman cannot be trusted. 2. Keen, piercing.

Sleight -1. Skill; dexterity  2.  A clever or skillful trick or deception; an artifice or stratagem: Illusion magic is also called sleight of hand.

Stranglehold - 1. (in wrestling) an illegal by which an opponent's breath is chocked off  2.Any force or influence that restricts the free actions or development of a person or group: The stranglehold of poverty prevented them from advancing their society.

Sully -1. To soil, stain or tarnish.  2. To mar the purity or luster of: defile: The politician sullied his opponent's reputation with that remark.

Q, R - Daily Word Dose

Quell - 1. To suppress, put an end to; extiguish: The Troops quelled the rebellion.  2. To vanquish; subdue.  3. To quiet or allay (emotions, anxieties, etc): The mother quelled her child's fear of the thunder.

Rampage- 1. Violent or excited behaviour that is reckless, uncontrolled or destructive: The river has gone on a rampage and flooded the countryside. 2. A state of violent anger or agitation: The smallest mistake sends him into a rampage.

Reckon - 1. To count, compute or calculate, as in number or amount.  2. To esteem or consider; regard as  3. To think or suppose.

Repudiate - 1. To reject as having no authority or binding force: The media repudiated Donald Trump's claim that Obama was not born in America.  2. To cast off or disown: His family repudiated him after he became a criminal  3. To reject with disapproval or condemnation.

Rife - 1. Of common or frequent occurence; prevalent; in widespread existence, activity or use: Crime is rife in the slum areas of  our cities. 2. Current in speech or reports: Rumor are rife that the government is in financial difficulty. 3. abundant, plentiful or numerous.