Blue Flow– At West End Gallery
“To overcome the anxieties and depressions of contemporary life, individuals must become independent of the social environment to the degree that they no longer respond exclusively in terms of its rewards and punishments. To achieve such autonomy, a person has to learn to provide rewards to herself. She has to develop the ability to find enjoyment and purpose regardless of external circumstances.”
― Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience
This is another new small painting now at the West End Gallery in Corning, NY. It is titled Blue Flow and is a tidy 2.5″ by 2.5″ on paper. It is right on the mark for the annual Little Gems show at the gallery which opens on February 7.
I chose the passage above from late psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi to go along with this painting today. Csikszentmihalyi first introduced the concept of flow in 1975 and his 1990 book, Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, which I have discussed here in the past, became a classic in the field of positive psychology.
Flow is basically being in the zone in a creative sense, shutting out all external noise and distraction to deeply focus on the task at hand. It is described as being at that point of balance found when one’s skill level meets its highest challenge. Flow has become a well-worn term for musicians of the highest skill level. You now often hear the word used to describe the soaring solos of guitarists like Jimi Hendrix or Stevie Ray Vaughan.
I often use the term rhythm in describing that hyper focused state of creating. It also involves doing whatever is being done for the sole purpose of doing it. It doesn’t depend on the approval or consent of anyone other than its creator.
It’s a letting go of that which is outside– fears and doubts– and just going with the flow.
There’s a lot more involved in his book on the subject but for my purposes today I am going with the simplest form of flow and how it symbolically relates to this little piece. I see the blue stream as being the flow of creativity and the distant sun as its endpoint. Everything around it is in tones of gray and black, their colors lost in the act of focusing on the flow of creation.
It’s a simple reading of it, of course. But sometimes the best pieces find their power in that simplicity. I think that’s the case here.
I came across a song from an artist who was not on my radar. His name is Shawn James and the song is fittingly called Flow. I liked the song a lot, both in sound and meaning, and have enjoyed listening to his other music this morning. Solid stuff. Look forward to hearing more. Here’s a taste:
So you think you got it all figured out?
All this money in the bank and the women all about
Well, now what you gonna do when your ship starts to sink?
Caught in a monstrous sea and you won’t be able to think
Yeah, and it’s there you’ll learn what I know
That all of this world will fade
You gotta learn to let it all go, oh
And flow like the river
Redtree Times 