Donald Diddams
The Art of Digital Art
Visual Sorbet
Geometrics 1 - 2010
The newly painted walls of Fort Christiansvaern beg to be abstracted. As I worked with these pictures, I began to view them as visual sorbet, or palate cleansers for the eyes that appeal to the senses without carrying any other message.
Abstractions that lack any implicit social or emotional message may be a cop-out, or art-lite. On the other hand, perhaps their straightforward appeal to the senses, and the emptiness of mind with which one must approach an abstract image in fact is the message — and an important one at that.
Geometrics 2 - 2010
Donald Diddams 
Wow. My eyes have tasted the tartness and my mouth is watering.
Very powerful images, indeed!
i agree it is the message. there is a feeling associated with the visual perception. it is the important thing. it is the language that needs no words. and yes, it is refreshing and direct. to put some words to their best use here, i would say these are beautifully and sensitively composed and rendered and most of all an art.
Very nice!!
Art-lite if pure abstract? Not!!!
Melinda – Thank you so much! “Eyes tasting the tartness” is a great line!
tipota – Yes, a language that needs no words… the only difficulty is quieting the internal conversation long enough to hear it, whether it be light and color, music, or the kind of poetry that reaches directly to the heart. Thanks!!
Jala – Thanks! I thought that line about “art-lite” might get your goat!
that top image is most certainly visual sorbet. The blue and orange vibrate in the second image. Art-lite? I think not.
Thanks for stopping by, Carol! Glad you liked these… that bottom one really does vibrate, doesn’t it?
I really like the first image and once again I think your work needs to be huge. As in monumental.
I certainly have missed a lot of interesting postings! Good to hear that the show went well and covered some expenses to boot. I was surprised to see that Ag Fair Yellow wasn’t included. Such a great piece.
These pictures may be pastel and pretty, but the one lonely window in each picture evokes all kinds of thoughts and emotional messages. As much as I tried to empty my mind, it just didn’t happen 🙂 The greenish sky in the first one brings to mind some impending doom. I may have spent too much time looking at The Subversion. The words “death toll” kept dominating my mind as I looked at the darkness of the bell tower. It is so depressing…..
Thanks, razzbuffnik! I agree, these would look good in a large format.
Thanks, Catherine. That’s the problem with shows…. some of the children must always be left behind! I think you are right, that the single window in these gives them enough content. I think I may have been a little depressed when I did “The Subversion”, and probably for good reason. Hence the need for a little visual sorbet!
We have talked about abstracts and their importance not only in stand alone art (art-lite? =]) but also as the more important foundational “bones” of well composed more complex work . These two stand alone as well balanced abstracts that are candy for the eyes.
Thanks, Robin! Each piece has its own balance between the abstraction of color and value, and symbolic content that makes it unique. While the popular pendulum seems to have swung toward the representational, I am still most attracted to pieces that also have a strong abstract compositional element, too. “Strong bones” as it were…
Very cool!
The second image reminds me of a poorly designed pool with no water in it.
Thanks, planetross! The architect for that pool should be let go, huh?