Arts Engagement Process Is Mesmerizing: What you see is not always what you see, or at least what you think you see. Visual art may hold your attention, and it can even grip your imagination in unpredictable ways. To be truly engaged with a painting it’s important to be aware of your personal emotional state. You can visit a work of art in a museum or see it on social media. Either way, you’ll have interpretations that you reflect on for a mere split second, to a gaze that can last minutes or longer.

Arts visual curse and assault: Social media platforms have a profound impact on all forms of art. It’s especially true when it comes to an abstract painting. Everything you see as you scroll through tons of content, cuts in and makes an impression on your brain. A work of art has to compete with all of that. Disentanglement becomes a real challenge. No one work of art can truly leave a meaningful impression, at least one that lasts more than a minute.

The painting: When I created this work of art and tempted to scheme my way into the viewer’s mind. I created a starting point with the surround. Then came the lure. Thousands of little squares made up the background. Larger green rectangles were organized in such a way to force the eyes to move to the center. The real stopping power and the attention-getter comes from the long strategically placed red stripes. We are conditioned to be attracted to red. In order to allow the eye to have a rest while coming and going the grayish-white squares on the periphery creates a restful border.

Engagement: Will my work of art hold anyone’s attention let alone make a mesmerizing impression? Much of that will have to do with the viewer’s mood-psychology. Our brains are already overtaxed by visual assaults. I have just presented a short stopover or respite, that probably won’t garner visual comfort, but it might possibly make you stop for that precious second or two and allow you to think about what you see and feel.

“As my enduring thoughts began to diminish, I stopped. I looked. I listened. It was my emotions that robbed me of my serenity to evolve creatively.”

 

Rod Jones Artist-Writer