Cartesian Split
I’m no philosopher but…
…this notion of the dualism of the mind and the body, the separation of material and
spirit (otherwise known as the Cartesian Split) has pestered me my whole life. The
subjective and objective worlds meet uneasily in my experience. A tacit and working
awareness of materials and natural phenomena has always eased the two into an
uneasy but productive balance. It’s why I have spent my life making.
French philosopher Rene Decartes picked up on Plato to put this position forward in the
17th century. He’s famous for saying “I think, therefore I am.” Sure, but isn’t thought
bound to the senses? He also described space as a vacuum to be best specified
mathematically. The Cartesian grid is the underlying structure for digital 3d visualization,
a tool I often use in my work. But the materiality of space is a primary and very specific
place experienced through breath and each of the senses.
Mr. Adamson said: “The grid is a very spiritual thing.” This work begins with the
consideration of the grid as a human response to the unknowable character of natural
phenomenon and order. And with the consideration of the tension between organic
form and geometry, a dialectic with innate meaning. It has been directed by questions
of process, values of workmanship and by a balance of critical and intuitive making. I try
to work at the edge of my vision, my ability and my understanding.
Fredrik told me the best thing I shared was that I didn’t really know what I was doing. I
may not know it but I have felt it pretty deeply.
Don Miller
Dals Langed
5/21/14