All posts tagged THECUBE

Art is the visual representation of our thoughts, opinions and emotive responses to our surroundings. It is a container for psychological processes and skills. Art has power. It heals, comforts, amuses and enrages us. It encourages debates, discussion, thoughts and the desire to express opinion. We fall in love with art for many reasons, some because we can relate to them emotively or visually, some because we admire the technical skill or the bravery in the artists exploiting themselves, and in others we respond to the art that takes us out of our comfort zone, and is out of the norm, shocking us.

Of late there have been many Artists who create work in the desire to be different, to stand out and make a statement without any statement actually being made; other than the crave for attention. It is easy to want to be the creator of something that sweeps its viewers off into discourse. However one must not loose themselves; as Art is an expression of being human and having your personality laid bare whether it be for a large audience or oneself. It is admiration of honesty expressed within art that often heightens its value and number of appreciators. It is a tool to connect one individual to another.

When consciously aware of these factors it has become easy for me to see why I fell in love with Benjamin Buckley’s work. It is because it allowed me to reach into my imagination and draw from images of my familiar to create the unfamiliar. To create an escape, another world that my mind and Ben’s genius allowed me to go. With every painting, my mind had built stories behind them, finding reasoning behind each line, building or object in the images. These stories then become a collaboration between Ben and I. I also have admiration for his skill used to create the images and the weeks it takes him just to create a quarter of an image. My mind associates pieces of his images with that of memories, dreams, or things that I have seen and done. I relate to him as a person through his work as I can see ways in which he felt or craved to express through each canvas; through the colours and shapes.

Art should be a collaboration between its viewer and the artist.

You can still catch Benjamin’s paintings at THECUBE until February ’11.

Also have a look at his site: www.artbyben.co.uk

Words by Gabrielle Cooper