Cave Painters

About the third of the three paintings I hung at the The Loft at Camano Commons on Camano Island, WA.

G.K. Chesterton, in the Everlasting Man (published 1925) discussed mankind as a created-as-creative beings … with a mandate for the arts. A great statement: “Art is the signature of Man.”

Also reading, again, Ed Weston’s Daybooks … California – in 1930 … he was having conversations with Dr. Becking, a scientist/friend living in Carmel … Becking showed him a book of cave paintings, to which Weston – who I seriously doubt was a believer – said “……” … these drawings are from a highly cultured race, they were done by extremely sensitive artists, certainly as fine as anything contemporary.” Later, he refers to how much contemporary art looks simply primitive … the fact that “… crude, ugly, childish, proves nothing …” of primitive, un-evolved mankind.

These two diverging/disparate/? thoughts … I don’t believe they ever met, Weston and Chesterton – the artist and the scientist, and both astounded around the same time by the creativity and skill of “primitive”, caveman/cavewoman art. This fascinates me. That, along with a specific teaching series from the late Dr. Earl Palmer at UPC … inspired me towards this piece.

Art is the signature of Man.

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