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“Things should be described
I find the world to be a “visually noisy” place. I need something “quiet” on which to rest my weary eyes — something simple.
Therefore, in all my Dexplorations I strive for simplicity. Of course, a black square on a white surface is simple — but also utterly boring. So my goal is to create a design with simple shapes and colors which yet has the power of being interesting to the eye and mind — of holding my attention and yet be relaxing, not taxing.
“Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that's creativity.”
I draw all my Dexplorations on the computer. I do not use photographs, 3D software, fractal generators, Photoshop filters, image tracing or other semi-automatic ways of creating images. The Dexplorations are created wholly “ex nihilo” by my hand and eye and mind: I simply draw, arrange and color shapes. My chief tool for this work is a great vector illustration program called Xara Xtreme. On occasion, I will also use some functions in Adobe Illustrator. In addition I use Adobe Photoshop for all web site graphics and Adobe InDesign for my layout and typesetting needs.
“Art is a selective re-creation of reality according to the artists's metaphysical value-judgments.”
The life, art and philosophy of the American novelist-philosopher Ayn Rand (1905-1982) is a source of great inspiration to me. She is the author of the great classic novels The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged, as well as the originator of the philosophy of Objectivism. Her ideas about Art, as expounded in the seminal essay collection The Romantic Manifesto, provide much of the theoretical foundations for my stand on Art vs. Modernism.
The links above all lead to The Ayn Rand Institute in Irvine, California, an educational
organization working to spread knowledge about Ayn Rand's life, art and ideas. The authoritative work on her ideas is Objectivism: The Philosophy
of Ayn Rand by Leonard Peikoff. |
I do not consider these images to be Art. I say that, not in the name of modesty, but in the name of honesty. I hold that the non-representationalist non-esthetics of the so-called “modern art” movement was just yet another manifestation of the 20th century's nihilism. Modernism is to Art what Nazism is to Politics: both are philosophies of negation and destruction. For if something man-made is to be Art — and not just a meaningless, more-or-less-pleasant-looking artifact — it must objectively express something about Man and/or the Universe . That is a necessary condition of Art — and to accomplish this lofty task non-representational imagery simply won't do. Given their inherent meaninglessness, the usually chaotic and often militantly ugly non-representationalist products of Modernism are, in fact, mostly purchased by individuals and corporations for nothing but essentially decorative purposes — at which they also usually fail abysmally. Nevertheless, there is a legitimate need for honest, non-pretentious decorative imagery in modern homes, offices and public spaces. Doing that job is the purpose of my Dexplorations. Like all other forms of non-representational visual design, my Dexplorations are certainly devoid of any significant meaning. But I sincerely believe they are well-designed, interesting and yes, even beautiful — and hence earn their place in The Scheme of Things. I much enjoy creating these Dexplorations and I much enjoy seeing them on my own walls. As long as I do not hoodwink myself and others into thinking this is Art — and thereby help to destroy and negate real Art — I know that no harm and much good is done. |
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Copyright © 1997-2006 by Klaus Nordby Updated 20-Mar-06 at 17:14 |
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Web design by Klaus Nordby, too! |
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