Introduction to Chinese, Japanese and Indian (Rasa theory) Aesthetics: inspiring creativity from behind the viewfinder

Collectively, the aesthetics are inspired through oriental notions of beauty, including those embedded in Chinese, Japanese, and Indian cultures. From these oriental aesthetics are born creative perspectives that lead my work within the abstract, and the aestheticism enjoyed through naturalism - where subjects are more easily recognized and may help define a more definitive visual narrative.     

Most Chinese and Japanese notions of aesthetics are based on several interconnecting concepts, bringing attention to the common place, austere, the wilting, old, and the patina of age, to name a few adjectives associated with the understated.  Rasa Theory - (Indian Aesthetics) - Indian concept of aesthetic flavor, an essential element of any work of visual, literary, or performing art that can only be suggested, not described. It is a kind of contemplative abstraction … (To learn more please consider registration to the Mentoring Program: see Mentoring & Lecture Tab for details, or email me: lance.visualizingart@gmaii.com)

The Process of Visualization:

Creep along the forest floor or climb tree limbs and seek the often hidden spaces in bushes, thick grass and behind rocks, or explore the crevasse of tree-bark and moss examining the intricacies and interaction between light, shadow and texture. Take a full breath and smell the varied Earthy scents of fall or the sweet smell of roses and wild flowers in spring. Thus, I invite you to look closely and seek more than what initially meets the eye and perceived as austere, or common place objects in nature, and instead, explore and find deeper meaning within your immediate environment. In this instant, and for the artist photographer, the camera is a tool to capture artistic perspectives that bring to print a swatch of the normally hidden beauty, mystery and foremost, reality that surround our space.