New Epoch Notation Painting
An editor has nominated this article for deletion. You are welcome to participate in the deletion discussion, which will decide whether or not to retain it. |
New Epoch Art Notation is a painting notation, a conceptual writing system or visual language for pure visual images. The purpose of New Epoch Art Notation is to enable the concise encoding of painting instructions for complex visual images without the need for pictographic sketches or conventional written notes. The notation system separates the act of conceiving an image from the act of painting. The score produced in effect becomes the 'subject' of any paintings produced.
It was developed by Australian artist Peter Graham between 1964 and 1987. His sons Philip Mitchell Graham and Euan Benjamin Graham have completed his work. Many other artists have contributed to the development of NEA notation, including Paul Cavell
Peter called his invention Notation Painting for many years but in 1985 decided to change it to New Epoch Art. The name is a reference to two quotations from Kandinsky's Concerning the Spiritual in Art:
- 'To each spiritual epoch corresponds a new spiritual content, which that epoch expresses by forms that are new, unexpected, surprising and in this way aggressive...'
- 'We are fast approaching the time of reasoned and conscious composition, when the painter will be proud to declare his work constructive. This will be in contrast to the claim of the Impressionists that they could explain nothing, that their art came upon them by inspiration. We have before us the age of conscious creation, and this new spirit in painting is going hand in hand with the spirit of thought towards an epoch of great spirituality'
Overview
'NEA sets have a unique thematic structure called thematic orchestration which is closely related to the chaos theory of physics. This method of drawing utilizes a process apart from conventional abstraction. The raw subject matter is synthesized into a theme. A theme is a configuration of lines which embodies what the composer feels is the essence of the raw subject.'
'The paintings are then 'grown' by sensitively repeating and overlapping the themes in a rhythmic manner always with slight differences building up a complex lattice of enclosed organic and asymmetrical shapes.' (see tessellation) 'The theme is the 'visual title' of the work. Literary titles are taken from the raw subject or from intuitive literary associations that may occur during the act of composition.' Graham, New Epoch Art, InterACTA No 4 1990 p 12)
'Every line and every shape put where it is on purpose, no happy accidents, no random use of gesture, and no reliance on drips or splatters. Every shape asymmetrical, and unique in form; its nature and position related to every other; and its position, the overall structure, never repeating the entire evolution of the image during its making, also premeditated and in fact, containing much of its meaning; a composed image that although subject to determinism, will never repeat itself even if the entire process of making begins with identical working conditions. The child of relatively simple rules that can be applied almost effortlessly be people with reasonable sensibility and craft skill but who NEED NOT BE ARTISTS; the participation of professional artists only serving to increase further the diversity of invention'. (Graham, New Epoch Art, InterACTA No 4 1990 p 12)
Performance
'[NEA scores] can be arranged for group performance, a characteristic that opens up a host of educational, therapeutic and community art possibilities.'
'Public performance of [scores] demystifies the artist and makes visual art more accessible to the lay person. The meaning of the composition may remain a puzzle, but the physical effect of performance is positive, enticing the individual to learn more and, gain a more profound appreciation of the art form.'
The challenge for the serious painter is to make their own landmark in interpreting a score. But NEA painting is as much for the novice as the professional. Because the structure is predetermined by the composer, the score enables people who would otherwise not know where to begin a painting, to participate in the most complex of visual compositions after a very short period of instruction. Thereafter, individuals can pursue the art form as deeply or as casually as desired. By using the system, it is hoped that many more people will be able to experience the challenge and aesthetic delights of artistic endeavor for the enrichment of their lives' (Graham, New Epoch Art, InterACTA No 4 1990 p 14)
Notation structure
NEA notation is a high level visual language. If you think of Bezier curves as a form of low level machine code for constructing shapes, then NEA is similar to a high level programing language, with its own graphic user interface.
NEA notation was designed by visual artists for visual artists working in a traditional environment with physical materials. The symbols and interface of New Epoch Art Notation are designed specifically for visual thinkers and to meet the technical and practical issues of visual art forms. The Notation can be used for any visual media using a 2D ' Basic Plane'. It describes what to paint, but not how to paint.
Computer generated images play no intrinsic part in the NEA language. It is designed to be low tech - but it's also designed with computers in mind. NEA notation could be digitized to work with information technology in the same way as English has been digitized for this web page, but computers are not essential to its use. All you really need is a pen and paper.
Having said this, it is possible to use NEA notation to design computer generated images on a conceptual level. You could use NEA notation to manipulate Bezier curves. The NEA notation can encode for any visual language and visual media.
Score
.jpg)
A written NEA composition is called a score. The score handles colour, structure and placement.
The staff has three parallel lines: the upper definition, the horizon line, and the lower definition line.
On the extreme left of the staff are the colour symbols. The notation divides colour into seven distinct 'Primary Instruments': Red, Yellow, Green, Blue, Brown, Black and White. Each Primary Instrument is represented by its own ‘Primary Symbol’. Combining these symbols allow you to describe all forms of pigmented colour. The symbols represent the appearance of paint smeared on a white surface. They are not a proportional mixing guide.
On the extreme right staff is the 'theme', which represents the structural building blocks of the composition.
In the centre of the staff is a diagram of the canvass. Within this diagram is all the necessary notation to direct the act of painting, i.e. looking, direction, proportion etc.
To read the score you simply read the colour, read the drawing and follow the diagram. Each staff in a score holds a single ‘turn’ or sequential stage of the painting.
As an educational medium
'Imagine a teacher on a pleasant Saturday afternoon, shopping. Passing a bookshop, he suddenly remembers the year eights have reached a point where they need a new 'Set' to master. After checking the catalogue, he selects a promising score. The introduction gives the usual social-historical background to the composition, the composer, incidents surrounding its creation, and even a history of notable performances or the set'.
'In his studio the teacher studies the score, the 'how-to' of the composition. Colour, and structure are all conveyed in chronological order and a step by step rough simulation is given at the end for those who require additional help'.
'The set happens to be a trio, one performer will use green-blues; the second, yellows; and the third, red and white. The year eight class has eleven children perfect! The teacher makes four copies of the score and spends the rest of the evening pondering the scale of the performances, which medium to perform with, and which part he will paint'. (Graham, New Epoch Art, InterACTA No 4 1990 p 13)
What it is not
New Epoch art Notation is neither an attempt to bridge the gap between visual art and music by assigning musical tones to colours (see Visual Music and Music Visualization), nor one of the many visual musical notations designed over the past 50 years as an alternative to traditional music notation. It is neither a visual art form exploiting the aesthetics of musical notation (see Eye Music), nor a color notation (see Munsell Color System), although it does incorporate a unique color notation that does not use a color wheel. It is not "notation printing" a term often associated with the printing of music notation. Finally, it is not Painting by Numbers.
Unlike many of the general movement notations created during the 20th century such as Labanotation, NEA notation is not an augmented rearrangement of traditional music notation. NEA was built from the page up, to facilitate pure visual or graphic communication.
New Epoch Art Notation differs from Bezier curves on many levels. First, NEA is not an algorithm, it is an abstract conceptual environment in which many constructs can be built, including algorithms.
Second, it is not a form of mathematics tailored to define or generate geometric shapes. It is a purely graphic language designed to build complex forms without use of any mathematics. In terms of education theory, NEA keys into Visual-Spatial intelligence rather than Logical-Mathematical intelligence, (see Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences by Howard Gardner).
Further Reading
References
- Wassily Kandinsky, (Translated by M. T. Sadler ). Concerning the Spiritual in Art and Painting in Particular [Documents of Modern Art, Vol. 5] (Paperback) 90 pp. George Wittenborn Inc, New York, 1972, ISBN 0815000324
- Boles, Bernard, Review of Peter’s Notation drawings exhibition, The Nation Review, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, April 1973
- Graham, Peter, Notation Illustrations for The Westernport Bay Symposium, Royal Society of Victoria Proceedings, Melbourne, Stillwell and Co. Vol 87, P1, 21 August 1975, ISSN 0035-9211
- Gardner, Howard , Frames of mind : the theory of multiple intelligences, Basic Books, New York 1983, ISBN 0465025102 ISBN 0465025080
- Germaine, Max, Artists and galleries of Australia, Published by Boolarong, Brisbane 1984 ISBN 978-0908175876
- Lahey, John, Quiet artists life revealed on 2500 canvasses creates a stir, The Age, 7 July 1987, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, ISSN 0312-6307
- Stone, Deborah, Beyond the Grave - A Painting Performed, The Australian, 22 April 1988, R. Murdoch, Australian Capital Territory, Canberra, Australia, ISSN 1038-8761
- Litchman, Loy Dr. New Epoch Painting: The ideas of Peter Graham, InterACTA: Journal of the Art Teachers Association of Victoria, Published by ACTA, Parkville, Victoria, No 4, 1988, ISSN 0159-9135, Cited In APAIS. This database is available on the, Informit Online Internet Service or on CD-ROM, or on Australian Public Affairs - Full Text
- Graham, Philip Mitchell, New Epoch Art, InterACTA: Journal of the Art Teachers Association of Victoria, Published by ACTA, Parkville, Victoria, No 4, 1990, ISSN 0159-9135, Cited In APAIS. This database is available on the, Informit Online Internet Service or on CD-ROM, or on Australian Public Affairs - Full Text
- Coster, Peter, Domestic treasures open up a masterly storehouse, The Australian 2 October 1990, R. Murdoch, Australian Capital Territory, Canberra, Australia, ISSN 1038-8761
- Lancashire, Rebecca, The art of painting in numbers, The Age, 25 May 1991, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, ISSN 0312-6307
- Purvis, Julie, 'New Epoch Action Painting', Gallery: bulletin of the National Gallery Society of Victoria, Mount Eagle Publications, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, May 1991, p7, ISSN 0814-7833. Cited In APAIS. This database is available on the Informit Online Internet Service, or on CD-ROM, or on Australian Public Affairs - Full Text
- Pianta, Philip (Ed), 'New Epoch Experience 2', February 1993, p59, The Melbourne Report, Fitzroy, Victoria, Australia, ISSN 1030-1666
- Heathcote, Christopher Dr. Harking back to Romantic spirit, The Age, 6 August 1993, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, ISSN 0312-6307
- Mc Culloch, Alan and Mc Culloch, Susan, Encyclopedia of Australian Art, Published St Leonards, N.S.W. : Allen & Unwin, 1994 ISBN 978-1871569735
Primary source material
There are currently two tape recordings by Peter Graham available at the National Library of Australia, Petherick Oral History Reading Room.
Unfortunately they are incorrectly cataloged at this time: Call Number: ORAL TRC 2490 (please quote to locate catalogue entry) Record ID: 2069617 Graham, Cynthia, Interview with Cynthia Graham [sound recording] / interviewer: Barbara Blackman. Published: 13 July 1989 Description: 2 sound cassettes. Notes: Has transcript.
In fact one of these recordings is as follows: Interview with Peter Graham by Paul Davis et all, 5 June 1977 Details information on his notation research.