Visual Language and Portrait Counseling

Today we are not well versed in visual language, there are many studies out that tell us how we react to visual stimuli but very little research or study done to how to decipher that which is created. Most of the research being done is done for marketing so it's not always done with the best intentions. On the other hand there is of course art therapy. There is a big difference between what I am developing, Portrait Counseling, and art therapy though,  because the art being made in Portrait Counseling is guided by the intuition of a trained artist and practiced in meditative practices. In Art Therapy the art is made by the patient and they may know nothing about the issues they are facing but the art finds a way to talk to us and search for a solution.

During the portrait session, in Portrait Counseling, the counselor connects in a way we have been driven to connect for as long as people have made art, through the portrait.  Through looking, and this is not limited to be with the eyes; I see the hugging saint Amma as someone who renders portraits through hugs, I connect, communicate and allow myself to be spoken to through paint. It is a purposeful looking and connecting. It is less for achieving a likeness than it is for achieving a bond.

Although the ability exists for an artist to make a flattering portrait of a person is it less likely to hold true connection and honesty. For an artist, one trained in the crafts of rendering, it is not difficult to recreate a likeness on the page, but when there is an attempt to recreate a likeness, the artist’s attention is on themself, and what the client wants, the artists works from a place of being pressured; this may not be that case when the artist is being hired for their insight and working style, but most artists do not get hired with that agreement presupposed. The connection is only made possible by not thinking of the likeness, although the bust of the client is the center focus of where and how the image will form itself, the portrait is made more from the aether.

“The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things,but their inner significance: for this, not the external manner and detail, constitutes true reality”

- Aristotle

Portraiture, in art history has an important place dating back to prehistoric times. We can see evidence today of ancient Egyptian portraiture which is the oldest and, most likely, most notable. These were highly stylized of course, but that was a primary form of communication, we lack that sort of visual communication style today.

The question arises, is portraiture the means of communication or is communicating the purpose for the portrait. Either way portraiture and communicating are going hand in hand.

I present to you the claim that honest connection between an artist and their source can open pathways that previously were closed. We accept that meditation is a way that we can center, and hear the voice of the universe or god. It has been proven within the organizations that we trust for information regarding the weird wonky world of the unseen. Both science and religion would not hesitate, when in a space they can speak honestly, to say that meditation (prayer) works towards your overall health.

We also accept that group meditation or prayer is a stronger form of this. Of course group dynamics can alter or disrupt those benefits so, and although organizations like churches and yoga or meditation studios won’t suggest this often, it is always good to explore new groups and new approaches to one's self realization practices. It has still been proven that connections among multiple people can more quickly calm the body and mind and affect things as simple but important as breathing to things as complex and mysterious as cancer. Group meditations can affect things as well as others as well as the efforts of groups like UNIFY, the Wash Alliance, Uplift and others prove.

Under these circumstances both more is better and less is more. I fill the space with less distraction, less intervention, less judgment and at the same time be more, more connected more aware, more present and allow that to drive the moment. I begin by intending to connect through the oneness that has existed since, if not before the Big Bang, the oneness that we all are, the oneness that all is connected to. That connection drives the creation of the portrait. upon completion the client reads, harnesses, and tames the painting. They see themselves, it is a book of sorts for them to read their own story. It is easier for a client to say the portrait looks angry, when they see anger around them because they are angry. 

Science has proven to us that what we are experiencing is a mirror of what we see in the world so to create an image of someone and to ask them to study it for a few days is an exercise that will give me a clear vision of how they see themselves and where to prod a bit to open their eyes to the blocks that they are experiencing. this is not comfortable but as we see in every other mime on Facebook, growth exists outside the comfort zone. Come with me and lets find some of those blocks in you 773-843-1794.

Me and the Ladies

I had a wonderful conversation last night with an older woman about my preference issue. I saw this at the time, and still do, as pretty gratuitous, seeing as I have been writing so much about it, but progress doesn't' happen in a vacuum. So after we chatted a bit about her artwork and then moved into our diseases and medication injections I, pretty abruptly, introduced my preference issue. It also lead to talking about the two women I lost, go figure. Well I am not proud when it comes to being a better person or advancing my spirit, and I was drawn to do this with this particular woman, so I did. Anyway...

We didn't solve anything but it was good to say these things out loud, to talk about preference and how I prefer to be with certain people rather than do certain things. She brought up the problem of not having an opinion, and addressed that as a bad thing. I went blank and was not sure at that point what an opinion was for some reason, I just responded "Is it?" Referring to her comment that not having an opinion is bad.

That was an interesting response that came out of me, I didn't really process it until after I said it, but there is a feeling that having an opinion is your right. My response however questioned that, maybe I was focusing on the largely American idea that I have a right to judge the actions of others. When it comes to what my friend and ex-girlfriend did, in choosing to keep their time over continuing to share it with me, I have no opinion about that. I do however have an opinion about how I have chosen to deal with it, but that is less of an opinion and more than a "feeling about" how I dealt, or am dealing, with it.

So maybe I don't really have much of an opinion and maybe that is bad, because, as she and I spoke about last night, I don't have a voice. When I don't have a voice I would assume that I would try to find one somewhere and that is bound to bind me to someone else. That is wholly unacceptable for me.

It is unacceptable because I want to be whole. And, for me, being whole is about having and using all that I have been given, all my talents and honing those things about me that require honing. When I rely on others to be my voice or preference where will I end up? I want to be me more and more each day.

A man who had influenced me, and continues to every day, once told me when referring to getting my addictions under control, "Don't be afraid of losing yourself, you've already done that. You can now only become more yourself." And that is what comes to mind now that I am facing the task of finding my voice within preference.

Sometimes I am faced with a choice, I recently learned that a mutual friend of myself and my friend that is no longer speaking to me, fell very ill. I decided to reach out and tell my friend because I knew she didn't' know. I know that our friend is more important to both of us than the distance that she needs from me. We exchanged one email each, the one in which I told her about our friend, and then her response thanking me for the information. Neither were cold but neither were written from a place of fun loving friends as we had been.

This is not important except for the fact that I was strong with the interaction, I did get a little wash of sadness over me when I received her response, which also contained generic well wishes, which I am sure were honest on her part but were in no way open for a continued email interaction. I wasn't expecting one but if it were just cold and direct I would have been able to not feel sad about it. The fact that we both love each other and do not speak right now is what is sad. I actually had to write on the whiteboard in my bedroom.

Martin,                                   

I do NOT miss our friendship,

It was a burden to me.             

It may seem a bit drastic to look at this, and I will be getting rid of it soon but it is much easier to think she was mad at me than I did nothing, that is just weird. I can't grasp it, that is loss for nothing at all. Nothing to learn, no way to get better, nothing.

I will tell you I love myself and that I have to take that a little closer to heart. There is a huge chasm between the active perception of that, and how I really feel. I notice it all the time; my mind goes to others so quickly, and that is a good thing in a world that doesn't think of others, but inside of me, that may be a disadvantage.

Remember my friend who would tell me I can only become "More myself" I am reminded of thins now. It is important to recognize that thinking of changing my thoughts, to go from others to myself, causes me to feel scared that I will be a selfish asshole, but then I think back to all that I have changed in my life that began with thoughts like this. I am going to keep reminding myself I will only become more of myself. Now I am able to be taken advantage of, by not having a preference and giving as much as I tend to do, so saying no properly and respecting others, and that means respecting our spaces, is what is important. I am an honest person, and I want to live more honestly. so I will except this challenge to change and think more of myself openly and lovingly.

Last night I went out and bought myself a couple tacos. I looked at is as a date. That's is how I wan to to start this challenge. By loving myself more directly.

I think I mentioned it already but I also spoke with myself about how much I judge myself. If I were to relate that to how I think about others. it does not compare, because I only except others as they come to me. I don't feel a need to influence them, or nudge them in any direction, I just love them as they are. That is exactly what I want to be doing to and for myself. Hence all this writing to get out all of this whatever it is.

I don't have a whole lot of things to do with myself so it seems though. well, as of right now I don't drink or really get into movies much any more. I do paint, but I don't read much, so again spending time with others has been my point of contact with love usually. When I am working or on my own I will berate myself or celebrate big wins, but that is really it. I have not just loved and cared for my mind much on my own, that is what I am missing.

Fear dictates some of that. I am planning on going into a studio, where lots of people that I care for do artwork, to share that space and be around great people also. That is one way but I still need to stop reaching outward so much. I want to care for myself always, every minute. Like when I lived with my ex, I would just look at her and give her my love, silently but intensely. Just being there was sharing. That is what I can give myself and how wonderful that would feel.

Before these days I always said I hated the beginnings of relationships because they were intense. What I loved was the relationship that is settled and built on a foundation of respect and love, one that emanates love no matter what. Two people, two individuals living as a team both doing what suits them and coming together for support and to share. Today I still love that but I am seeing that having that with myself, rather than someone else is probably they way to go. Yes this means I will be "alone" but what is alone when I have everything?

Fearsom Fables... Environmental art at the Hyde Park Art Center

This is a series of paintings done on 8 foot panels, displayed leaning up against the wall throughout the entirety of Gallery #4 in the Hyde Park Art Center in Chicago. One side of these panels shows devastation, the other side shows a utopia. The devastation is unrelenting ? it shows a world where every resource has been mined, from the trees in the forests, to the ocean and the human spirit ? there is nothing left but the reminisce of the culture that we opted for. The dried ocean floor with its oil tankers and the desolate neighborhood with the tire swing remain, but the corporate promises and support have completely faded.

Tom Torluemke, although born and raised in Chicago, moved to Hammond, IN where he lived for over a decade. While there, he worked with the city and tried to build something sustainable. Based within the arts he and his partner Linda Dorman organized events and community betterment programs with the Northern Indiana Arts Association. The fact that Tom was not politically motivated ultimately made him a thorn in the side of those that were, and he had to watch as his vision was not appreciated and led to the building of another mall with more promises made but never kept.

This piece is a complete experience, it is not smart, it is not hip, it is not coming from the overly self-satisfied world of the intellectual and educated arts. This is one man?s fear ? a fear that is in all of us, the one fear we all too often decide to ignore 99% of the time. When we do think of it, when we make a choice because of the fear or because we want to be better, or even just be seen as being better, we are taking an action for the betterment of the whole. That is what Tom is asking of us, take a little action, it doesn't have to be much, maybe just start by turning around one panel to turn a dilapidated city-scape into a redwood forest, but for christs sake do something.
images by Linda Dorman