Intimations of infinity : exploring transcendence in landscape painting

Abstract

This dissertation investigates the question of transcendence and its relevance to my picture-making . process. The term 'transcendence' refers to any experience which surpasses the finite. In relation to the art-making process it refers to an opening up of the frame. Transcendence is not regarded as a fixed and unalterable state but as such that it encompasses paradox. The fragmentary nature of experience and" knowledge provides the point of departure for this investigation. The possibility of transcendence is partly explored through the concept of symbolic orders. I am using the term 'symbolic orders' to refer to any frameworks which shape human experience in general and the creative process specifically. Upon exploring the concept of transcendence as concerns the work of a number of artists and insofar as it has informed my own pictures it appears that there is a creative system pertaining to the artwork which is transcendent.