Of A Piece

 

Wooden Graffiti

 

When we think about something that is “of a piece”, say, the life of an artwork over a century, it gathers meaning over the generations. The individual parts of a work function as an integral whole. This has been my MO for decades now where everything that I do fits in with some other aspect of something else at a system or conceptual level. For example, a photograph taken on a specific day is associated with some piece of music written on another day, in which some event took place, and becomes historical overlays. (See my Photographs For Music) If you make the movie and create the score at the same time it will be more "of a piece" than if you create the music in the final phase. Each element can be generative when combined with something else.

When your life is "of a piece", you can explore a lot of different things in a lifetime and they can work as an integral whole– even though it doesn't always appear to be that way. We can accept some things and reject others without having to think that they need to work together or have to be kept together. An example of this in a spiritual practice is to take certain elements and leave the rest that you can't use or don't agree with. We think the divine or sacred should have a place in our lives, so we include it in the mix. Even Warhol continued to a "spiritual" practice, yet has a reputation as one of the most profane people in American history. But it was all of a piece.

I love the work of Iain McGilchrist, but I disagree with him on art and music. He seems to be totally against postmodernism, but that's most of what I've done in art. He doesn't seem to be into rock’n’ roll at all, and those are my roots. So I can ignore that part of his philosophy, and take the rest. 

Going Fishing - Arthur Dove