Keith Morant (1944-2022) was an internationally acclaimed artist who had been painting for over 50 years. His innovative abstract art is characterized by unique curvilinear forms and symbols, contrasting colors, and kinetic expression. He lived in New Zealand and exhibited in galleries and art centers throughout the world. He received innumerable distinguished awards including several top awards from Manhattan Arts International. As an extraordinary writer, he eagerly shared profound insight with fellow artists and art enthusiasts. It is an honor to present his essay here, written in 2020. ~ Renée Phillips
Essay By Keith Morant
As we all know, on every level, from birth and growth to atrophy and death, the principle of creativity reigns supreme. Throughout the centuries, our study of the ‘laws of nature’ have shown us that this great principle is strengthened through variation within pattern and diversity within uniformity. Human creativity is the highest level of this natural path and, alongside of the scientist, it is the artist’s function to knock at the door of the unknown.
As the human creative act proceeds, there are certain principles that become more apparent. The most important of these is individual truth. Such truth is defined by its uniqueness and while its inspiration may be drawn from natural sources, it cannot be appropriated (consciously or unconsciously) from another creator’s work. If such truth is unique enough in its expression it will impart a sense of the universal and may find a place in the recorded history of local or international cultural progress.
Such principles are, as in all nature, simply a matter of growth. They emanate from the internal self and are an evolved intrinsic component of the psyche. A good example of this would be the human signature. While we are all traditionally schooled in writing, it is the uniqueness of our signature (the sign of our nature) that exposes our creative uniqueness.
As society rules, the uniqueness of a signature is the most highly valued of all human endorsements. Its expression is your intrinsic nature and, as you grow, becomes deeply ingrained in your psyche. There are many other levels through which such natural expression is signatory to your being and it is through these principles of natural expression that artistic truth communicates.
Awareness of this phenomenon and the effort to work with it is never easy. The unconscious is your greater awareness drawn from experience and memory. My own analogy for this is if one imagines a leaf on the floor of a great forest, then that leaf is your conscious thinking mind, while the surrounding forest is the great continuum of growth that become the structures of your unconscious. In true creativity the leaf, however erudite and adept in intellectual analysis, is never enough in itself to project your deeper truths of awareness and being.
…one cannot rely on intelligence alone to produce that which may touch and enlighten the souls of the future.
As the conscious thinking mind, it is limited in its ability to make decisions that communicate that vital sense of the universal. As any musical composer, poet or painter knows (not to mention the scientists), one cannot rely on intelligence alone to produce that which may touch and enlighten the souls of the future.
As a painter myself, I have found that there is another way of looking at this duality. The conscious mind may logically plan and execute on many levels but it can only go so far. If the decisions being made are through only rational and practical application then they are very limited in their expression. The cerebral cognitive function is not enough. There comes a point where the ultimately desired conclusions can only be intuitive and therefore beyond normal thought processes. If, say, I am working on a certain area of a works surface, I have noticed that simultaneously, through practice and observation, I am subliminally alert to an entirely different part of the canvas. It is as if I am thinking on several levels at once.
Some artists fail miserably simply because they have tried to imitate the techniques and expressions of other artists.
This, of course, is the natural and necessary pressure of the unconscious. It is the point where the need for diversity challenges habit and uniformity; it is the area of risk and potential disaster; where my unplanned plans may fall apart. Here is where conditioning is forsaken and where I dance with circumstance; where I take great chances with nature – my nature.
It is through this dual approach that the strength of the signatory in art is established and another great principle of creativity becomes evident. Through sheer persistence and repetition the channels of the cognitive interchange will gain strength. This is the first principle of creative nature. It is easily illustrated by your own alertness to other achievements in creative fields. For instance, how many times have you heard a certain strain of music and been able to name the composer immediately? Or, how many times have you walked into an art gallery and, been able to name a specific painter from a distance. Beethoven is Beethoven and Rembrandt is Rembrandt before any naming of their productions.
It is important to remember that such strength, by aligning with the creative principles, is only achieved through great discipline and continuous practice. As the great poet Keats tells us: “If it does not come as leaves to a tree, it had better not come at all.”
It is important to remember that such strength, by aligning with the creative principles, is only achieved through great discipline and continuous practice. As the great poet Keats tells us: “If it does not come as leaves to a tree, it had better not come at all.”
The necessity of good practice is essential. It is a matter of personal growth and cannot be substituted or faked. Some artists fail miserably simply because they have tried to imitate the techniques and expressions of other artists. One can always learn from other creators or even teachers but that learning can only be in the realms of art history and methods of application. You do not have to look far to know that any kind of imitation is an anathema. (Nobody taught you how to sign your name.)
Whatever education precedes it, art is always a matter of personal growth. Because you are conditioned to expect acknowledgement, acceptance, even praise, for your efforts, your truth may become a quagmire of uncertainty. Your progress is fraught with all kinds of fear, the worst being non-acceptance. To continue on such a path often demands great courage which is too easily translated as selfishness. However, if you do have the strength to weather such storms, then your survival will depend entirely on the depth of your commitment. It is always about continuity of practice and strict discipline. It is a matter of internalizing your deepest feeling and projecting it to your utmost satisfaction until, like your signature, it flourishes without thought.
We evolve through many creative principles into the cosmic dance of life and are born to thrive and die through a plethora of miracles. We are all whirling in a continuum of recycled stardust and, if we are to survive as a species, our awareness of these truths can only feed and nourish our will and spirit to greater heights of creative endeavour.
Read “Incubation”: A Solution to The Artist’s Creative Challenge by Keith Morant
Read My Article “How to Stay Financially Secure When You Change Your Artistic Style”
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