AUTHOR’S GAB, READER TALK.
A LETTER TO YOU, THE READER, SO THAT YOU CAN FINALLY FIGURE OUT WHAT I’M THINKING.
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THIS MONTH: Blankness
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“The idea itself, even if not made visual, is as much a work of art as any finished product.” -Sol DeWitt, artist
Dear Reader,
I have always found power in a blank page.
Here is this empty, white sheet of paper, just calling my name. It beckons to my pen, “Mark on me,” and to my soul, “Come now, what shall I say?”
But, there is something nasty about defiling the page, as much as it yearns for you to do so.
Suddenly, it takes on a shape, some character, from henceforth, which it will remain and always will be. It becomes what you want it to be. It breathes what you will it to breathe. It communicates what you wish it to communicate, and what others believe it to say to themselves.
In other words, it can never be a blank page again. It no longer has limitless possibilities. It’s as if you have, with one stroke, caged up all freedom of idea and opportunity and permanently packed it away.
Yes, there will be other pages, other times. Just, there is no longer this one, not now and not ever. You have caved to temptation, and in doing so you have sinned a great sin: defiling the purity of this blank page.
Which leaves us to ask: what can be art? Is it not better, then to not engage? Should one not leave the page blank and walk away, content and satisfied?
In an old fairytale, entitled “The Emperor’s New Clothes” by Hans Christian Anderson, two swindlers dupe a vain emperor into believing they can make him the finest garments in the world. The catch is: the clothes they make are completely invisible. The ruse continues until the emperor parades around town in “the clothes”, only to realize he is actually completely naked.
Consequentially, while there was nobility in the idea of fine clothing, I’m sure the emperor would have much preferred to have clothes on that everyone could see beyond their imaginations. Surely, the swindlers snickered loudly on that day, congratulating each other on a prank well pulled.
This all goes to show that, sometimes a blank page can be art, and other times it cannot. In other words, a white canvas, a blank page, with all its limitless possibilities, has its place; but the marked up, structured page also is right-headed.
The difference is all about discernment, one’s personal judgement. You must ask yourself, in that situation and in that moment, what type of message do you wish to convey? Only you yourself can answer this question; you alone must chose the appropriate answer.
For, whatever your work becomes is entirely your choice. You alone have the freedom to let the page be or make it into something malleable.
But, because human history is not purely written by ideas kept in one’s head, I would highly encourage you to take that risk and, nine times out of 10, put pen to page. Do not be discouraged, nor afraid of what can be. In her article for Professional Artist Magazine, Elena Parashko puts it well:
“But what exactly do we fear when faced with a blank canvas? There is no real physical danger to us. Instead, our fear is based on worry about future consequences that may or may not even happen. We may have a fear of failure, or surprisingly enough, a fear of success. We worry about making a mistake or that this painting may not be as good as the last, that it may not be accepted into an exhibition, win a prize or please a client. We fear success if we feel we are not deserving of recognition and reward, dislike being the center of attention, or worry about how we will cope with the change that success brings…But in the short term, whatever it is that we fear will be expressing itself in a host of excuses as to why we can’t start work on a painting.”
Let the blank page, therefore, be your inspiration, your guide, your light as you write. Remember how it called you in your story’s youth. Remember how it begged you to begin, to harness that raw idea and to stick it through until the end. And ultimately, remember when to refuse that call, to call it complete and be finished with what you began.
If you heed this call and this warning well, dear friends, your art will be successful. For a piece of art can only be the thought, the idea, the blankness, that brings it into being.
For instance, I can envision a whole poem, a whole quilt, in an instant; but, the actual materialization of that idea may take hours, days or even years to complete. And, I only know when it is complete when the original idea exists right there in front of me, in reality, with all its rawness, sweat and beauty.
So, I use this month’s Ad Lib as an encouragement to you, to take whatever (creative) opportunity, whatever blankness, lies in front of you. The risk, I assure you, will be worth it.
Sincerely, Your Author,
Jessica McLean
The Rose 