My website:
www.homoperfectus.net
My blog: art-extremist.blogspot.com
Cubicle Vision
Happy Future Babies
Blinded by the Mind
Freedom of Mind
Spatial Relationship
Complex Nonsense III
Uncovering Mona Lisa
Complex Nonsense II
A.R. Teest is a pseudonym I use as a symbol of my art attempting to explore beyond my limited self and personality, into the part of me that is unchanging and unlimited. I am a religious extremist, art being my religion(simply being that the process of art is something I have the utmost devotion to). Creating is a way for us to become closer to the feeling of fulfillment, and all "ordinary" people are artists to me, because we are all constantly creating, even if just at a basic level, to try and add to the fulfillment of our lives.
My main intentions in creating art are:
1.) To go beyond the limits of everyday reality
"The only way to discover the limits of the possible is to go beyond them into the impossible."
-Arthur C. Clarke
Peak Expansion
My main series of artwork, Homo perfectus , in which I have also written a story to go along with in the book The Perfect World Tour , attempts to go beyond the imperfect existence we are in and create the "impossible" world of total harmonious perfection.
2.) Experimentation and exploration of ideas
"We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time."
-T. S. Eliot
Page 14 of Visions of God
In Visions of God: the graphic novel , this was my foremost intention, to simply experiment with and explore the idea of God, and express what I came up with. Visions of God details a mythical god's sad, humorous, angry and frightening journey to Heaven/enlightenment.
3.) Self discovery and expression
"The creative process, so far as we are able to follow it at all, consists in the unconscious activation of an archetypal image and elaborating and shaping the image into the finished work. By giving it shape, the artist translates it into the language of the present and so makes it possible for us to find our way back to the deepest springs of life."
- Carl Jung
Complex Nonsense
The art process is also a way of getting to know and understand my feelings, desires and unknown realms inside me. Sometimes I may have an intentional desire or like/dislike I feel inspired to create a response to, while other times I do automatic/spontaneous creations and then step back later to see what my subconscious has revealed.
4.) Joy
"Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions."
-Dalai Lama
Babies II
I believe everything we do in life is to fill in the feeling of being unfulfilled and incomplete, and when we fill in this gap (whether or not it is only a temporary filling or even an illusionary filling), that is the feeling of happiness and joy. Art is my main filler.
5.) Precipitate change
"It may be hard for an egg to turn into a bird: it would be a jolly sight harder for it to learn to fly while remaining an egg. We are like eggs at present. And you cannot go on indefinitely being just an ordinary, decent egg. We must be hatched or go bad."
-C. S. Lewis
Modern Man
I hope that others will also find a connection with my work and it will enhance their lives and perspectives in some way.
6.) Illustration/design
I also do illustrations for others for commercial/promotional use.
Medium and Style
My methods of creating art in terms of formal qualities are really nothing unique. I use whatever medium I feel most comfortable with and can manifest whatever inspiration I may have most effectively. The vision and concept are what I tend to focus on. My aim when in the process of creating my art is to express my thoughts and concepts I have with the least amount of restrictions. I try to be unselfconscious and also unyielding to the world and the rules and ideas set before me.
Transcending Reason
Sense Expansion
Time Travel Friends
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