Upbeat Neopop 2000 Updated 2021
Since its inception one of the main concerns embraced in the concept Upbeat Neopop is that of complexity. In the words of Jasper johns “Generally I am opposed to paintings which are concerned with the conception of simplicity. Everything looks very busy out there to me. “[Sixteen Americans: The Museum of Modern Art New York 1959] Here he not only speaks of the world of nature as in fields, trees and forests as many artists before him have done. He recognises the connectedness between nature and humanity. We ourselves are nature. Our creations interconnect planetary systems. Our understanding the concept of complexity can help us to understand the interconnectedness of natural processes. He speaks of people. People appear busy. Existing and new symbol systems have become more complex and of great interest to humanity. Technology is changing the world in which we exist. After many years of exploration and development the plot thickens as paintings in the body of work titled Upbeat Neopop have become more detailed with playful line and form. Like a piece of ripe fruit each artwork is saturated with such intensity of colour that one can almost taste the sweetness of its juice just by looking at it, allowing the eye to feed the mind with its content, thus causing the viewer to salivate in anticipation of what is to come as the concept continues to develop. The focus on colour remains. Colour is life. Like Jasper Johns before us the concept continues to research develop and explore the many possibilities for the changing focus of the eye.
Hard edge an approach to abstract painting that became popular and widespread in the 1960s is an ancient technique. While not taking the spotlight from colour and composition it remains central to Upbeat Neopop. The light draws clear, clean lines to describe the forms embraced and painted.
Paintings mirror and parallel the natural world that surrounds us. Symbol systems have developed and become more complex. Rich, integrated and varied in information makes them difficult to understand in a linear experience but they are still knowable. Many of these systems originate in the microbial ecosystems in the biosphere that we influence but cannot control. Simplicity and complexity in art depend on one another. It is the contrast between them that is essential to communicate our personal preferences. It is this contrast that describes our journey in mark making this far.
An original fundamental question in the concept Upbeat Neopop, where are we going in our development as artists remains unanswered. Mankind is like a lost ship at sea traveling daily in unchartered waters battling a pandemic and climate change. Many of us are dying and more will pass away before we once again sail freely in the open seas of existence. It would be naïve to think that our experience of life and art here on planet earth will be as we knew it, that is before the pandemic when we could travel and move freely amongst one another. Art mirrors our experience. It must adapt and change. We remember all that is important, all that is beautiful in existence is recorded in art. It is not the task of an artist to create a vaccine that will combat disease, nor is it the job of an artist to solve the planets problem with climate change. With loyalty and respect, it is the scientists that our eyes turn their weary focus too with childlike hope. In difficult times like these, artists like flowers in Spring, open to the challenge of what they do best. Using their special gifts from God, their knowledge relating to symbol systems they create new images that are heart felt. In this way they connect with others at an emotional level.
As artists we exist in a playground between reality and illusion. In times of disaster an artists studio remains a safe place in which to play. It is through play that thoughts travel like unseen winds back to childhood. It is here in this time of our development that all roads remain open. New concepts can be grasped and understood from which solutions to problems can be found. Here, like a small child, we can make choices without the harsh crippling criticism or the judgement of others. Here in this environment, we can choose optimism over pessimism, a necessary ingredient for success no matter how great the problem. Problem solving is information solving. It is through the freedom of play that wonderful unique art works are born. From this place we can move forward in art and life shedding the prisons of our own creation in the same way as a lizard sheds its skin and moves on to a fresh new season. It is a guide to where we wish to go. Images can create wishes. A wish must come before any change or travel in life is possible. The unpredictable leads to the new.
Princess Neopop the central figure in the concept having travelled and experienced many cultures in the world remains quintessentially Australian: a multicultural woman wandering along through life always in a garden of sonorous colour. A playful storyteller, connecting and linking transcendental values: always in the present, but with a futuristic glance that considers an infinity of possibilities, existing in a world where humans experience mystery, magic, adventure, and an uncertainty that is central to our experience of life. She is a product of popular culture, the antithesis of anything known and therefore removes her viewers from the know, opening their minds to new possibilities in life.
Rae Heint
June 1st 2021