NEW DIRECTION

⚪️🔴🟠🟡🟢🔵🟣⚫️ NEW DIRECTION Ed. No. 87 - ON THE GIVE & TAKE IN LIFE

LOOKING FOR A PERFECTLY GOOD HOME

[CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE]

"To be, or not to be?"

Artist: Neville Williams / Model: Endo

Size: 210cm W x 122cm H x 5cm D

Medium: Spray paints, varnish, wooden cut out figure,

heavy quality canvas stretched over wooden frame.

$3,000

To read more about this artwork

go to:- NevilleWilliamsArt

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SEEKING A CREDIT BALANCE

When I started to write this commentary about ‘giving’ and ‘taking’ I began by referencing high profile examples of each that would have sent many of those reading the article into apoplexy. One person's idea of ‘giving’ is anothers idea of ‘taking’.

The problem is the ideas we all have about ‘giving’ and ‘taking’.

It is probably better to use myself as an example rather than praise or finger point at others.

Not so long ago I gave away a number of my artworks. They are good paintings. And it was an act of giving because I enjoyed every single moment of the process from deciding to give the works away and to whom, wrapping the items, contacting the individuals and then delivering/presenting each of the artworks. You know - doing it properly. I know these were acts of giving because as I said I reaaaally felt good about the whole process.

I was not seeking anything in return... zip, nil, nada, nought, nothing from the individuals concerned. Each of those people had most surely earned this small acknowledgment of their service to community.

One of the artworks needed to be delivered to an individual from an organisation.

And even though the organisation put quite a few barriers in the way of me delivering the artwork to the intended person it got there. The barriers didn’t bother me in the least.

When you are coming from the right place nothing is an obstacle.

That organisation is preconditioned to know that many give so that they can get something in return. And that’s just one of countless examples of the ‘belief’ knots us humans have tied ourselves in. Today you can’t even give something unconditionally without suspicion, cynicism and distrust coming into play. This reciprocal practice is so commonplace that it is the normal process to many if not most. We've all heard the saying "no one gives something for nothing".

I said I enjoyed giving these artworks and it was the freedom, happiness even joy that I felt that gave me assurance that what I was doing was right. I’m the one who got the reward.

It actually was of benefit to me. A feeling is very hard to describe but for some reason I got the gift of ‘feeling good’ in the process.

What I received on that particular occasion was the thing that we are all looking for in everything we think, say and do throughout our entire lives. The drive to find the good feeling is programmed deeper in us than our DNA.

But I am not going to start going around giving everything I have away.

Not that I have that much. (Jeez I'm an artist.)

I don’t want to do that. That wouldn’t be real, practical or sustainable.

And I'm not that good anyway.

We mistake our ideas as the truth. The truth is something that is felt deep from within. Our ideas skim the surface with very little substantial reward. But we’re addicted to that noise box of ideas in our own heads. In fact we now have so many ideas going around inside that many are sick with confusion. Some extremely so.

If you can give and know(feel it) you are extremely fortunate…or perhaps you have made good choices along the journey?

We all give and take and for most of my life I have been on balance a taker.

I’ll venture an opinion that most of us live in a debit balance struggling in our own peculiar ways to get into credit points.

Is it that humanity lives too much from the head?

And we wonder why the world is in a mess! Living from the head is manufacturing the confusion of our world. This can be interpreted as working for our own ego selves i.e. A swirling grab bag of second hand ideas we have picked up along the way that restricts us in our ability to actually live our lives in the moment.

Original creativity is the way to go.

That’s hard work too but in a different way.

So with the Artwork I have showcased above am I giving or taking? What's your view?

Are you a giver or a taker?

If we did things because we wanted to rather than were obliged to it'd make a much different and far happier world. - Neville ☺︎