“Narrative in art makes us think about all sorts of interesting things, but it derails the engagement with a visual experience. It asks for interpretation, so as to make meaning or sense out of what we’re looking at. Narrative seems a quick and easy diversion from the more difficult challenge of actually trying to see.” ~ Uta Barth (2006 Interview)
One day while walking I came across a large, freshly cut stump of an ash tree, felled due to ash borer disease. The design on the wood made me stop. My mind immediately jumped in, saying things like “Wow, that must have been a big tree. I wonder how old it was. Was it diseased or cut down for some other reason? How sad to see such a magnificent tree come down.”
My mind was creating all kinds of stories, taking me away from the experience of seeing what was there. I decided to let those stories go for the time being and just focus on what stopped me. Looking closer, I saw texture and lines and colours and shapes. I spent some time photographing what I saw, discovering new things in the wood as I continued to look. Then I wrote a haiku poem.
Freshly cut ash tree
Etched with grey, reddish brown marks
Incomplete circle
Stories are ubiquitous. They’re in the air we breathe, swirling around in our minds and in the minds of those around us. They’re in the media we consume and the songs we listen to and the movies and TV shows we watch. Stories are an essential part of being human. They’re how we learn and make sense of things. Who doesn’t love a good story?
Yet, our stories can sometimes lead us astray. Even when we’re present, in the moment, thoughts and stories, conditioned by past experiences and beliefs, preconceived ideas, opinions, judgments, likes and dislikes, can prevent us from seeing clearly in the moment.
For the next few weeks, we’re going to notice how our minds work. But for this week, let’s practice giving our mind a rest. We don’t want to rid ourselves of stories, but there is a space between stimulus and story and this week we’ll get in touch with that space. Who better to lead the way than Uta Barth?
Uta Barth
Through her photographs, Uta Barth addresses the act of looking itself. Her intent is to eliminate theme, narrative, story, and to photograph how we see when attention is unmotivated or undirected. Barth is a proponent of sitting and staring, to see just for the sake of seeing.
“Narrative holds out for a certain inevitability; it places deep faith in causes and effect. It eliminates complexity and contradictions.” ~ Uta Barth (2006 Interview)
In other words, our stories can leave out important things. Barth asks, “Can we only know things by comparing them to other things?” I would add, “Can we only know things in relation to ourselves?” When we let go of ‘our’ story - of memory, narrative, metaphor, or symbolism - this is the contemplative way of seeing, the self-forgetting that Thomas Merton talked about. We simply see.
“Perhaps there were fragments of time when I was ripped from the flow of narrative into a single moment. A moment when sound and vision were inverted themselves, torn inside and filled my attention to capacity. A moment when everything else dropped away and the experience of seeing, of sensing, become so overwhelming, so all-encompassing, that the very idea of interpretation did not, could not, exist.” ~ Uta Barth (2006 Interview)
Let’s live in this space for a few moments this week. First, to notice what it’s like to see for the sake of seeing, and give your mind a rest. And two, to notice when your mind begins to construct a story. You don’t have to stop the story, just notice. I hope you find this as fascinating as I do.
Practice
Last week, you noticed what you normally overlook. This week, you’ll even let go of that. Practice what Barth calls ‘unmotivated, undirected looking.’ Sit and stare, in a room, or out your window. This practice is like a meditation, where you welcome everything and notice thoughts and stories that arise, as they inevitably will. Let them go and tell your mind to take a rest.
Go for a walk with no agenda, no destination, no direction. Just wander until you’re ready to come home. See what you see. What is that experience like? Can you notice the subtle difference between this type of walk and one where you have an agenda?
Write a haiku poem, where you describe an experience just as it is without any interpretation. See Resources for more info on how to do this.
Notice when your mind is creating a story about a particular person, relationship, situation, or event. What if that story is not entirely true? What might you be missing? What assumptions are you making? Notice your preconceived ideas and judgments. Are there other possible narratives? Practice letting the stories or judgments go, at least for a little while, to make room for other possibilities.
What surprises you about seeing this way, without the need to understand or make meaning? What do you notice or experience just as it is - no story?
Resources
Uta Barth - I highly recommend reading her interviews and viewing her many photographic projects over the years.
Be Aware before you Share - my latest post is about media literacy and being aware of the many different narratives we encounter in the media landscape today.
Learn more about haiku. Haiku is a short poem - 3 lines with 5, 7, and 5 syllables respectively. More importantly, haiku describes an experience just as it is without adding any personal interpretation. Harder to do than you think.
I’ve spent the week trying to see without creating story. It’s a huge hurdle; as my mind leaps to to structure, to narrative, to a view with a point.
About half-way through the week I began to look at the world and search out the abstract, patterns that attract my view but defy story. I did do was take the opportunity to stare, to soak up something that deliberately defies category and enjoy it for its lack of structure.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CMVoWAllUw2/
Then, using words (haiku, no less), I tried to put around my picture a frame that is evocative but not a narrative. The words are all a work in progress. I think of them as poetic picture frames, and I struggle further because I think they overlay a narrative on the thing I’m trying to avoid giving a narrative. I’ve tried hard to use words that provide a sense of what I’m viewing without the actuality of the scene.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CMVmwPqARgy/
I’m so unsure of what I’m doing that I posted them on Instagram in a feed separate from my usual posts, a sketchbook of sorts, that I can refer back to, to see how I view the images when there’s a had a bit of space between us.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CMVlk_nlRTt/
I like this idea of a sketchbook, that allows me to record some travels that are digressions from my usual path. This may be the start of something new.
I love the catchy title, Ditch the story. It becomes a catchy reminder or metaphor of the space between stimulus and story. Stories can leave out important things, insert distracting things, make up things confusing things.. Letting go makes room for self forgetting and losing our Self in the moment. I feel raw, unprotected by any boundaries, memories, or expectations. Feeling vulnerable to what every comes my way, blown around in the wind, no not knowing anything, direction, or names. Everything is invisible in the visible. I was walking down the same path for my daily hour walk. I appreciated the essence of my surroundings, feeling comforted, but also strange. I was letting go of names, ideas, places, and daydreams. Everything blended together, into one big nameless story. I encountered everything as new, I had been here before, but now relaxed into a flow and mindless state. Like a dream that is both real and not real, did not feel attached to what I was doing, though aware of my body moving forward. I was aware of enjoying this peaceful state of being. My mind resting was a nice breath of fresh air.
This is like the rest between movements in the Feldenkrais Method. We rest between movements to make the next movement a fresh start, forgetting the old to begin fresh. Then our body is open to new sensations and possibilities, different ways of moving. The same as our vision is open to new perceptions and possibilities, and different ways of seeing-- with taking a rest. Then our seeing is not cluttered and distracted as much. We see more clearly! Our visual perception is different, less shaped by what came before. More surprises, more joyful seeing!
This article was very unique, thought provoking, bringing much awareness to how I create boundaries between myself and everything else. Too see clearly is not an easy task, it is a fun and stimulating journey! I very much appreciate the resources!! I am behind, and look forward to reading this week. Thank you Kim!!