Void Life Void

12/01/15

The title of this project 'Void Life Void' is based on the idea of existentialism, the idea of god not existing, the void being the space that is left if there is no god.
This idea started to arise during the 'Enlightenment period' which occurred around 1650's to the 1780's where people started to emphasises and embrace reason, analysis and individualism rather than traditional lines of authority. It challenged the authority of institutions that were deeply rooted in society, such as the Catholic Church and the idea of God perhaps not existing started to arise. 
Previous to this potential way of thinking people were almost oppressed by the belief of god and would live under rules and laws of then kings and queens ho were believed to be appointed by god. They were expected to grow crops for the royals, go to war when they were asked to and to pay taxes to them other wise they would be disobeying god. People believed what they were told by the church  
even if they hadn't witness the information themselves. To the left shows a tapestry made between 1495 and 1503 displaying the expression of wonder and fear of the unknown by people of that time. The tapestry shows a unicorn present in the centre of the image and people surrounding the creature attempting to stab it from various angles. 
People were fearful of the things they could not explain and connected these unknown events or occurrences to the actions of god. For example people who were diseased believed they must have done something bad and were being punished by god. The same with the weather (stated in the bbc ks3 history through time). When people discovered scientific causes to these unknown mysteries their ideologies of god started to be challenged. 

 Jules-Elie Delaunay 1828-1891

This painting was made after the plague as a ermines of the horror of the disease. The presence of the angles shows the connection people made to the disease and god. the colours are dark and suggested mystery in the shadows representing the great unknown and development of this wonder that people had. 

Alberecht Durer Meloncolia 1514:

Even before the enlightenment period this painting shows the wonder and fascination people had with the great unknown and displays the curiosity of thing we cannot understand. the painting shows a person starring out into the sunset an a pondering manner. it is called melancholia like melancholy meaning great sadness. This could suggest a feeling of conflicting rise to the potential idea that their might be nothing beyond the void. There is also an angle in the image with her head on her hand suggest maybe a tired unsatifying view on the traditional ideas of god an heaven.

Here shows a section of text from Friedrich Nietzsche's The Gay science where he talks about the death of god. This show the shift in believers of the people after the enlightenment period. He talks about what we will now desire or even need to fill the void of god and suggests that people always need something to idolise in a way. the connection between what he discusses and modern day is fairly obvious as we have created and idolised 'sacred games' sun as football and sports along with replacing god with celebrities that people look up to and worship almost. This shows his view on how the void would be filled with no god. 
Nietzsche suggest that this absence of god will lead to anarchy.
The connection he has made to anarchy is an interesting one. When people are left with the thought of no god they replace this space with their own rules and morals that they live by rather than the rules that they were given. And this could in some cases become a negative and more selfish morals could be created. 
The film american Phsyco shows an example of the hopelessness or emptiness of an existential way of living. Through out the film the character is shown as being emotionless and explains how he acts normal and pretends to be something he is not. Describing himself at one point as wearing a mask of sanity. 

This is due to his lack of meaning and lack of desire, representing a hopeless existential view on life. At the end of the film the character Patterick Bateman says:

"There is an idea of a Patrick Bateman; some kind of abstraction. But there is no real me: only an entity, something illusory. And though I can hide my cold gaze, and you can shake my hand and feel flesh gripping yours and maybe you can even sense our lifestyles are probably comparable... I simply am not there"

This hopelessness in his case leads to murder, lack of compassion or empathy for other as he feels none himself.

Existentialism:

How people live with out god?
Everything that exists in the universe is defined by the individual, the meaning of life being something we cannot understand and the celebration of the great unknown and marvellous mysteries of the word to be explored.
The idea of life being meaning less and own own meanings in life being temporary and will eventually expire. FIND QUOTE
This idea could also be seen as being liberating and mean that the person can define themselves and the pattern and consequences of their own life, the individual determines and creates their own value. For example money is only worth something because people agree that it is worth something. 
This could lead people to pursue money rather than self happiness.
Mankind is the only animal that defines itself through the act of living and changing their essence which defines them.

This idea of mankind changing their essence and defining how they are reminded me of Norwegian Artists Andreas Lie. 

This images shows a bear with a forest image overlaid inside the shape of the bear creating ghostly effect inside the bear. This gives a sesnse of the essence or spirit of the bear showing its home and habitat the environment it lives in and its naturalistic connection to nature.

FIND ARTIST WOMAN WITH CITY






Some artists have been drawn to abstraction to best define or represent the unrepresentable.

Kazimir Malevich 1915:                                                                                                                            
this abstract piece shows how the black space is presented as nothing, however there is an big space involved in this 'nothingness'.
This gives the viewer space to fill with their own thoughts and interpretations and to fill in the volume themselves. 
This relates to the void life void idea of life (nothing life nothing) the idea of what could be in the nothingness and to fill the void of god with their own ideologies of life and what is beyond life.

Just Because it is blank, does that mean it is nothing?

Stephane Mallerme Un Coup De Des 1897:

Prior to 2004, "Un Coup de Dés" was never published in the typography and format conceived by Mallarmé. In 2004, 90 copies on vellum of a new edition were published by Michel Pierson et Ptyx. This edition reconstructs the typography originally designed by Mallarmé for the projected Vollard edition in 1897.

The spaces in the poem and organisation of the layout of the words allow the audience to experience the shipwreck and feel the atmosphere of the poem as eel as read it. However because the page is not full of words does it mean it is mostly empty, this related back to the idea of if god does not exist is the 'void' empty or is is it just a space used to emphasise the feeling of text or the importance of life. It only empty if the viewer decided it is empty. 

The wanderer above the mists By Caspar David Friedrich 1817-1818