pol revue interviews esmond

ESMOND LYONS.On The Razor’s Edge Of Renaissance . A Immersive Commentary !om a Painter Naturalist of the Contemporary Climactic Condition .

Your paintings depict something of and within contemporary Americas that is of a spirit of resil-ience when understood with a view to the dearth and sheer pallor of the saccharinegenic tapestry of the present era .

Yet insofar that it is of the present hour and points to transcendent potenti-

alities, it emerges inas-much from a radiant and more natural past - with a romantic candor reminiscent of the spirit of Winslow Homer .

At least , one could sup-pose this, by experiencing your landscapes, which seem to be an experiment of sheer colors and shades from whose interloping a

total ‘ Scene ’ emerges . The linearity seems in-formed more by the inte-grality of colors and shades entirely, and with it , visions of a natural world and restoration , despite a desultory real-ism backdrop pervading the culture of the con-temporary Americas . Could you elucidate the peculiarity of this Vision ?

NATURE’S BESPOKE SPIRIT OF RESILIENCE AND THE INNER CONTEXTUALIZATIONS OF THE MODERN STEWARD .

The spirit of resilience that you speak of, is the spirit of Nature herself. My landscapes are rooted in the Hudson River School tradition on one hand complete with a transcendentalist philosophy of sorts, and on the other hand by a keen awareness of the ongoing environmental destruction wrought by humanity .

While humanity may not recover from our excesses I have faith that Nature herself will. Often I hear these landscapes called “Romantic” and I am in accord with that label. The reduction or complete elimination of anything human though is, in view of the contemporary state of affairs, a gross admission on my part that building condos, boathouses, and millions of miles of asphalt is hardly a workable arrangement going into the future. And something quite different is about to occur.

As such my landscapes are really meant for the alien anthropologists who may find them, date them within the epochal collapse of our civilization and draw for themselves and their species a moral lesson. That my clent base sees them as beautiful paintings with a nostalgic atmosphere is of

concern only to my accountant. I don’t require that my work is “ understood ” to fulfill my purpose in painting because in truth everything can be understood any way we choose .

THE PHILOSOPHY OF LIVING FOUNDATION . ! NOV . 12 . 2010 .

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What , for you , is the most challenging and nerve wracking experiment , on, outside, beyond , and within the canvas ? What informs your temperance , and what frees and sustains your expressions ? What do you perceive to be stymying influences , and how are these overcome in the Artist’s Life ?

PARAMOUNT INSIGHTS INTO BLIGHTS AND BLANDISHMENTS .

Probably the “ most challenging and nerve wracking experiment ” is staying focused on what I’m doing . There are just so many distractions . Even if I lock myself in my studio and turn off the phone it’s frequently my own mind that seeks to divert

me . Meditation has helped that a lot . When I start a painting it’s often an uphill fight to stay with it . But I know if I get past that point I will drop into a kind of groove. When this happens the bundle of recycled carbon and water identified

as “ me ” becomes inconsequential and a larger energy emerges to do the actual work while “ I ” sit on the sidelines . Silencing the mind or at least disciplining yourself not to respond to its endless blandishments is of paramount importance .

THE INNER TEMPEST IN THE OUTER PERIPHERALS . You say, you presently reside in New York .When moderns contemplate New York, in most of us , that have actua#y visited the City of New York , at least a few of us undergo a sort of vertigo ( while others of course,

experience that vertigo without compunction, as an internal reaction gratifiable and indulged of for its own sake ! ) . ( In Cities ) The sensory mechanisms are washed over with an incomprehensible quantity of noise, half-formed, haunted, or overdone legacies, cliches, and biologic

and materialistic exa(erations . Do you attribute the modern culture of relative insensitivity and gloomi-ness as having been informed by a habitual defense mechanism to this pervasive modern noise ? An attempt by the internal mechanisms , namely, of the human Soul, to shield itself *om the laments and parodies of the transient incarnation , and to be instinctua#y shielded *om man made fo#ies and errors, and awkwardly become muted by the external gross convulsions of “ Supplies ” and “ Demands ” derived at the expense and coarse gratification of the natural world ? How can the average person revive the inner sti#ness in the re-realization of the Soul ? What , as an artist , do you perceive as the metaphors for the present age and its spi-rals of unrests and compunctions ? And what role does the elasticities between sensitivity and insensitivity play in the greater consequence - both phenomenal, and in the highest spirit of the term, artistic ?

THE RAZOR’S BLUNTED LAMENTATIONS , AND THE RESURRECTIONS OF BEYONDS .

I worked for ten years in Manhattan painting murals for different designers. I o,en won-dered if coming into your apartment to a panoramic view of mountains, forests, and lakes was rea#y an improvement over a blank white wa# . What I mean is that I felt that my work was just another sensory phenomena that had to be “experienced” when perhaps a ces-sation of experience was what is ca#ed for. A,er the intense cacophony on the streets of New


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Vertigo : a. The sensation of dizziness. b. An instance of such a sensation. 2. A confused, dis-oriented state of mind .

York City has subsided and you’re in a relatively quiet space maybe the best approach to re-instating balance is to contemplate nothing . The “ insensitivity ” and “ gloominess ” you speak of is something I am intensely intimate with in my own life .

I see the life of the soul getting short shri, in our contemporary culture but I’m not sure that that isn’t in itself an attribute of civilization itself or maybe more broadly a# civilizations. Once we’ve created these specializations, these social strata, the control of resources especia#y food, we’ve sort of locked ourselves in a prison and thrown the key somewhere beyond our reach. For the “average person” these conditions have been quite devastating in a spiritual sense.

I’d like to think that art is the guardian that stands at the gates of consciousness warding off the entry of corruption, but the truth is that the average person has so little to do with art and is so much more drawn to media and entertainment that it wi# take a complete co#apse of these diversionary systems before human kind can reacquaint itself with such a basic and innately human experience as the production, appreciation, and incorporation of art into daily living. When I realized that I was already doing that then I started creating art. But on a deeper level I don’t see myself as an artist.

I started painting at the age of 37 a,er having over 100 jobs as we# as playing music in a dozen or so different musical groups. I do see myself as someone who gets a good deal of spiri-tual satisfaction *om making my world and the world of others a more beautiful place. But as long as art is seen by the larger culture as a luxury while microwave ovens, automobiles, and leaf blowers are “necessities”, the “average person” is consigned to a spiritual wasteland and seems quite comfortable with the choice being made. That in itself should inform those who seek to reform and revive our dying Empire .

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THE EMPTYING OUT OF METAPHORS : AWAKENING TO THE ULTIMATELY MORALITY .

Art - in its Ideal - has been for the greatest por-tion of its experience , regardless of extraneous projections or motives, to the extent that Art has been brought about by Artists, have had been a Positive and Affirmative Innovation of the Emotional and Conceptual and Spiritual dimen-sions of the Man . Do you perceive in “ Modern ” or so-ca'ed “ Post-Modern ” Art an antagonist ? If so , what is the nature of this antagonism , in intrinsical terms ? Could it be that of between

barbarity and civilization ? Refinement and Disorder ?

And when simplified and refined beyond the emotional assumptions and theories , could it be even that of between chaos and order ? Of dark spirits and of those disposed unto Lightness ? Is this dualism transcendable , eventua'y , in Art, through Art, by Art —- even if that Art be an *“ Art of Living ” ?

TONES OF SUB AUDIBLE PERCEPTIONS WITHIN AN INFINITE RANGE OF DUALITIES .

When art is invested with a cer-tain vitality it speaks to the viewer in subaudible tones . As a reflection of human based con-sciousness it may introduce ele-ments of chaos and disorder, hope and despair, balance and imbal-ance, good and evil, barbarism and civilization, and an infinite range of dualities. But if that’s a# it does then it is simply mundane. Know this; the viewer seldom sees into the artist through the painting. They can have tota#y different interpretations of the work.

There is however an ineffable quality in that subaudible tone which goes beyond duality and hints to the viewer on some myste-rious level that consciousness is connected to a# this. The art then serves as a portal to an inner dis-covery for some viewers. I say some viewers because again no two people wi# see art the same way even if they match the language describing their experience . We a# have our truths that belong spe-cifica#y to us. But we can share a common truth as we# . Both art and religion are devices for deal-

ing with this commonality. Art

has a record of being far less vio-lent although it can be just a dog-matic.

When you talk about an “Art of Living” to me that simply means one goes through daily life with a purity of soul and an acceptance of grace. For instance when you re-quire sustenance first express gratitude for life itself. Balance the refusal to ki# with a deep reverance for a# life. Make your inner conflicts transformative. Live by intentions and let the re-sults speak for themselves.


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CONTINGENCIES OF THE ONTOLOGY .

And , a bit about yourself . Or a co#ections of bits and pieces . Experiences . Memories . Conception . Prolongation . Advent . Art . Your Progression through the Ages, insofar as you have lived them on a sensory and intrinsical basis , for your own contemplation and that of Eternity’s . Mr . Lyons , is it possible for you to as an Artist of your Character , to sing perhaps , a few praises and odes to the Virtue of Patience ? For our readers, if you wi# . If you can .

Living in a creative mode is for me the only way to live. I tried “ going straight ” a few times and it just wasn’t my truth . Accepting a#

the risks of living in the creative mode is the bi(est cha#enge. You can’t rea#y copy someone else’s life. You’ve got to invent your own. And you’re on a material plane so you’ve got to keep body and soul together while you’re doing it. Trusting the universe to take care of you is a leap of faith that you’ve got to take every day. If you’re working in a factory or an office as I did for years you chaff at the restrictions to creativity inherent in these social structures. To bide your time and patiently endure is for some of us the only way. I’ve watched young artists become impatient with their status. Impatience, Patience they’re just fine as long as you’re using them as emotional fuel to form your intentions. Focusing on the reality you want to experience is work. And it leads to more work, some of it serious hard menial work. Whether you’re painting a barn or painting a landscape know the joy of living is a song your soul is always singing. To hear it you just have to listen .


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Apocalyptic ? Cha#enging ? Transforming ? A means to an end in an intrinsical sense ? A resurgence ? A force of in-vigoration ? A vein of the holy Spirit ? A force of Eman-cipation ? Or are the furni-tures and the expensive china sinking with the titanic ?Beyond mortality, and assum-

A RECURSIVELY ORIGINATING SPIRAL OF INQUIRIES .

What does the Future look like for the Art of the highest Spirit, and the United States ? For Art, and the World ?

ing this to be the nature of Art , what are the gratifica-tions of a Future, if it could be understood, genera#y, rather than persona#y . Without bias, uncondition-a#y, and impersona#y ? For the sake of energising the poverties of the times with a little Love, if you wi# .

AUGURIES FROM WITHIN AN OCEAN OF CHANGELESS CHANGES , AND A SET OF CONSTANTS .

For most of my life I have been having visions of the end of civilization meaning perhaps the end of the hu-man species. I grew up in the era of nuclear showdown and matured as the environmental crisis emerged as the greatest threat yet to a “ future humanity ” . I’ve o,en envisioned the excavation of lost civilizations (ours) on this planet by alien archaeologists who are curious to discover when and how we failed to endure. A# this is consistent with the nature of the Universe which is transitory, insubstantial, and yet changelessly changing. If we look at nature we see the changing of the seasons, the flow of tides, the phases of the moon, and a# the evidence is clear. Nothing is static .

If we look at history we see that this relatively short era of civilization was preceded by a much longer epoch of subsistence living, hunting and gathering, etc.. Few of us have ever had the experience of living in that manner and were we to rediscover that mode of living we would no doubt be unable to discharge a# the bag-gage our civilized condition has loaded us with. So here we are in the early twenty-first century part of an enterprise which has clearly gone off the rails. I’ve o,en imagined myself and others on a crowded train. As we come into a long curve far ahead we can see the engine pu#ing the train. Not far ahead of the engine a bridge has co#apsed. Does the engineer see this? Should we sound the alarm? Do we look around and see that our fe#ow passengers are not interested in what’s happening preferring instead to be immersed in their per-sonal dramas, or revelries, sorrows and sufferings, triumphs, defeats, acquisitions, business deals, gardens, banquets, child-rearing, the whole gamut of human strivings and concerns? For some of us this image can be amended to the engine has already gone into the chasm. And we have at best a few minutes before we fo#ow.


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In either case I have only one recommendation. Look again at nature. In the fa# the leaves change color. It’s rea#y quite beautiful. And yet it’s because they are dying. During the long cold winter these leaves wi# break down to become the stuff which enriches new growth in the warmer months. Among these leaves there wi# be seeds which wi# sprout in the spring and nourished by the detritus of old decaying matter began the cycle again. In the so-ca#ed ”Dark Ages” of Europe groups of monks created citadels which were replicas of each other. If one hundred citadels were created and ninety-nine were destroyed the “seed monastery” could sti# produce more monasteries to replace those that were lost. Going back to the nature analogy most of us are leaves. Most of us wi# die and become the compost of the future. A few of us wi# be the seeds of the future.

The “seed people” wi# take what is worth preserving into the future. Their current dilemma is determin-ing what to take. The art? the technology? the literature? the religious beliefs? I have a feeling that this wi# sort itself out. But I don’t have any sense that humanity wi# perish or survive the coming cataclysm and I don’t think that is terribly important. It’s rea#y a matter for me of how we conduct ourselves in the present moment. I choose to make paintings of nature and feminine divinity, to make sacred chant music, to cherish each and every moment with a spirit of gratitude, to know the joy of love, and to be happy. And if and when it gets dark, very dark, I wi# light a candle for those who can see and I wi# sing for those who can hear. And just maybe I wi# look around and see mi#ions of other candles and a deafening chorus wi# answer my soli-tary voice .

2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 F I N I S .


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A Universal Survey . Our Universal Gazette of Letters thoroughly Surveys the Pantheon of Literatures, Arts, Traditional/Folk/Classical Musical branches, Luminous Offers in Fiction, Non-Fiction, Phi-losophy, and Integral Spirituality, spanning across - aptly - a# ahistorical and transcendent genres of human Cultures, and sublime Consciousness . We welcome our Readers to intimate Solicitude, depths of Reflections, and probing Investigations in the inmost depth of this " One Precious Life ” .

THE PHILOSOPHY OF LIVING FOUNDATION .! NOV . 12 . 2010 .

The Philosophy of Living Foundation . C / o Universal Editorial Offices , ! !

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