Learning to See

[Clifford Black]

There's something that's very intense about
the experience of sitting down and having to
look at something in the way that you do in
order to make a drawing or a painting of it.
By the time you've done that, you feel
that you've really understood what you were
looking at...and somehow it becomes a
method of possessing the experience in a
unique way.

-Robert Battle


There is distinct difference between the physical eye and what it sees and the inner eye and what it envisions, and yet the two most often work together in a seamless symbiosis.

It is essential that we learn to see through all our senses rather than simply looking with our eyes alone.

If we draw what we think the shape should be rather than what we see, our intellects are working against our eyes and we have defeated the purpose of truly seeing. Our physical eyes tell us what we see, our intellects tell us what we think we see--- and these can be at war with each other in the creative process. Experienced artists use their physical eyes to give them accurate and highly detailed information. The inner eye---the eye of the soul---then, if desired, embellishes the information given by the physical eye. This is called expression, and at this stage, has nothing to do with intellect.

It is possible that there are several types of seeing modes that people engage in, either naturally or otherwise. First, there are those for whom the gift of seeing is inherent in their makeup and they have exercised this ability since early childhood. Second, there are those who understand the need to see artistically and have been trained to see beyond their natural abilities. Finally, there are those people who do not have the ability or the desire to see any differently.

The physical eye assesses and establishes the rudiments of compositional structure.

The eye of the mind (soul) interceded, penetrates, and prevails in places uninhabitable by the physical eye alone.

[Clifford Black]

makes me feel like shouting, "SOMEONE WAS PAYING ATTENTION"!!

[Clifford Black]

I remember when they all walked into view, 'Rashonda and the seven dwarfs'.

[Clifford Black]

I wonder what we are really seeing: Let' see. Go to youtube and pull up Amos and Andy. Once you have the list you are looking for the history document with George Kirby as the narrator. The name of the film is Amos and Andy:Anatomy of a Controversy.
CB

[Adisa]

I can not say that I really knew much about Amos and Andy.  I heard it in conversation a few times other than that I can not claim to know much else about the show.  The documentary was very interesting and shows that there can be more to something than what one sees on its surface.  The thing that really surprises me is that in the year 2015, entertainers are doing things now that one could think is a negative depiction.  Does the NAACP not have the same influence on the entertainment industry now or is it something else that seems to have handcuffed that organization?   

[Clifford Black]

These are the kind of questions that must be addressed in class or in convention.

B.

[Habiba]

While watching Amos and Andy, I realized a couple of things. First I never knew that the first ones were white. I was sitting here with my mouth wide open. Second, I barely remember watching this on the small black and white tv we had. I was laughing today as I'm sure I was laughing at that young tender age I was at that time.
Today all I saw was a comedy act. Nothing more nothing less. There is a comercial out that says "someone has to be the first".

[Tricyah]

Yes,I am practicing how to see.Like Humpty Dumpty Sat on a wall.
Humpty Dumpy had a great fall.
All the Kings horses and all the Kings men couldn't put Humpty back together again
The Moon cycle of A WOMAN menstrual,The fallen egg from the Uterus wall.Nursery

[ARi Hotep]

I watched three different shows or commercials where this particular information may apply. One featured Michelle Obama with two so called white male actors dressed as women acting silly. Madera which features Tyler Perry is another movie where a male actor was dressed as a woman that made me think about this information. Last I recently watched a commercial that featured Lebron James and the same exact thing was going on as I stated, I will have to watch the Amos and Andy show in order to get an understanding of this information.