Left: Noble W. Curry, oil, ca. 1955
Dear Reader,
The following manuscripts were given to me in handwritten form by Noble's daughters. I have corrected some misspellings, but have otherwise left his writing exactly as he wrote it. It is not known what year he wrote down these thoughts, but certainly they were recorded after his artwork became thoroughly abstract in style.
Part I
The urge to create in the arts to-day I believe has more to do with the hope for immortality, and the clinging to life. The stress is upon the importance of art in determining the culture of a civilized people. Very likely their greater consciousness of this fact has caused some of our painters to attempt a much wider and more complete expression. After all, old things wear out and we must go on. But there are wonderful things in our old traditions and the tie must not be broken.
Beginning on those things a little more immediate I’d like to concentrate on color – what is color? In so far as it concerns the artist I mean – he sees color – he sees more color than the average person. He connects it with his own nature, not scientifically so much, but in relation to his own desires he wishes to express in his work. People are apt to believe there are certain laws compelling the artist to use one color or another, depending upon the subject. I tell you there is no law nor color nor anything else compelling an artist to do this or that. But there is a law; a law within the artist himself – it tells him of the illuminous harmony between colors, the harmony that carries thru even the contrasting colors, the blue that almost becomes part of the orange in another section of his canvas. This is accomplished of course, by the values, or the source of light which falls upon the whole; this is only a minor feature however. It’s only a part of the artist’s insistence on unity, not only in the technical means employed, but more important, the sustained unity in his idea carried thru the picture.
“Modern Art” to begin with is only a term certain forms of art expression are identified with. The steady flow of man’s learning and his great advancement in other fields of knowledge is responsible for “modern art.” It came about simply because of man’s search for more interesting things to do. Technically and naturally this resulted in the elimination of the increasingly unimportant items. It [illegible word] about the endeavor to insert something of the more “real” into his work. I think in our picture-making and other forms of art the desire is to rise above mere words as a means of expression and communication. After speech and written words are ended the artist’s work is just beginning, even a good poet or writer desperately tries to find his expression thru the uncommon word, the unpopular word. Abstractly and for the perfect attainment of his goal as an artist this would mean in the end the total elimination of the word itself. In the same manner we might believe the only perfect picture is that one which lies in the artist’s mind. Personally I wonder if the artist’s endeavor to push as near to just such an impossible goal is not responsible for most of our painting we call “modern art.”
Part II
I’d like to stress the value of emotion, as aid, or even the very basis of creation of new forms – deep feeling has the power to release any potential or dormant creative abilities we may possess; the quality of our emotion depends upon our knowledge and appreciation of what has been done before in the arts. The quality of our deep feeling or emotion depends upon the quality of the source from which it springs. Also originality emerges from the floods of emotion. In this respect I should like to bring attention to the aroused feeling an artist experiences beholding or contemplating an object or idea – the common reaction we all have is the desire to do something about it – the artist can do this in the most satisfying and complete manner – for himself – I would say much of our “modern art” arises from the painter’s desire to express himself for himself, he may feel that in working in a manner most becoming to himself alone, he’ll find this contentment that no other person is doing as well, and the moment he strays from that path thousands of others will mount above him.
The scientist’s widening view of astronomy [is] causing a deepening creative urge in the painter. The ever-broadening range of values he finds in philosophy has had its effects assisting the artist in solving his problems – for instance, I defy anyone to create a thing, to bring anything new into being without it resulting in a crude and rough state, even ugly. Nothing is created unless it be given the power potentially to perfect itself, or the power to “hold” against the time people are ready to understand – and readable traces of its chaotic beginnings are discernable throughout the whole.
I see the unavoidable necessity for freedom; creation is impossible without it. That the “controlled restraint” in that freedom, the complete indifference as to your work’s appreciation by others, is necessary for the creation of new forms in a work of art.
I feel it’s allowable that his work should, so to speak, bound back at him – I mean during the making of the painting he really thinks of nothing in particular – his desire only is to make a good picture – but he may read in the finished work things he has in the past desired to express. His faith and his sensitive personality like a sponge has soaked up many impressions – his faith I say allows him to believe all those impressions will be released as he works. This is all food and drink to him. Maybe this pleasure will be all he asks as reward. He does not worry about the picture’s mere appearance (as to style, surface features, rough or smooth etc) as compared with the contemporary work; rather he should worry when it compares favorably (most of our work). I am speaking of painting, which is the field of art I am most interested in.
I’ll say something here about abstract painting – I wonder what we mean by abstract painting. I see it as a gradual sharpening of the artist’s power to express himself, his keener insight (also physically speaking) into the “real,” the paring away of more and more of the non-essential, - he no longer finds it necessary to build up the object he paints to a stage where it’s normally recognizable. To a person untrained to see, the so-called realistic painting is abstract. It must be allowed and understood that the abstract interpretation of an object in a painting is merely a condition or “way” to arriving at a more “real” manifestation – the picture, a painting is a manifestation.
Noble W. Curry
